A
ROLE MODEL
WITH A MISSION
Sara Alonzo makes her mark raising
funds
for the Denver Rescue Mission
Written by SHARON ALMIRALL
Photography by KIT WILLIAMS
"I love working in ministries. It is
incredible,” says
the
enthusiastic Sara Alonzo, a role model for those young
women who would like to work in the nonprofit community or
in a faith-based organization.
“Seeing lives change” is a powerful motivator
for Sara, who learned about giving early in life and honed
her heartfelt skills in undergraduate studies and also in
professional environments. Feeling, as she does, that giving
to the poor is a commitment she will always have, Sara passes
her passion on to others.
Growing up in a household where there was not much in the
way of material resources never felt like an impoverished
situation for the young woman who is our role model in this
issue of DENVER WOMAN. In fact, she felt at the time, and
still feels, blessed to have parents who took children in
and fostered them, in spite of a lack of financial largesse. “My
dad was always giving and passed to me the value of giving
to the poor,” Sara says today. “When I compared
myself to other kids, I never felt that I was lacking. Growing
up poor definitely instilled values in me,” she adds.
Sara has taken the lessons of helping others that she
learned at home in Alamosa and applied them to her work in
a nonprofit setting, where she dedicates her time and considerable
energy to making a difference in the lives of others. “I’m passionate about telling kids they do have
an opportunity
to go to school and do whatever they want to do,” she
says. Her words ring true, as Sara has made a mark at the
development office for the Denver Rescue Mission.
Denver Rescue Mission describes its mission this way: To
meet people at their physical and spiritual points of need,
providing
food, shelter and clothing, along with practical programs
of education, Christian teaching and work discipline
with the aim of returning the poor, needy and homeless to
society as self-sufficient, productive citizens.
Sara’s passionate belief about young people having the
opportunity to make a life they want is only one of the many
ways that she makes a difference. She also raises funds for
the Denver Rescue Mission and has made her work there
translate to increased donations to the nonprofit.
Sara began her higher education in Greeley and then transferred
to Metro State in Denver. She studied event planning/
hospitality and had the idea she would one day be doing
events for charities, but learned she didn’t enjoy event
planning. “I knew I wanted to do charity work, but I knew I wanted
to give back,” she says. In college, she was a member
of
a student chapter of the Professional Convention
Management Association (PCMA).
Sara was attending a church, and some friends told her about
the New Life program, a rehabilitation program for men living
at
The Crossing, a residential facility operated by The Denver
Rescue Mission. At that point in her life, she was waiting
tables,
finishing school and had lined up a job at the Mission making
phone calls. It was the spring of 2005, and she had been in
the
position for five weeks when another employee in the department
left, and she began running the department.
She continued to attend school and began her senior
research internship while working at the Mission, where she
had been for one year. The last year of college she changed
her major to nonprofit administration and refers to it as “a
great experience for me to get hands-on practical experience
while finishing college.”
While making cultivation calls at the Denver Rescue Mission,
Sara started to see that people were making gifts in response
to
her calls. She was asked to build a budget in the donor relations
area. She did so, and things began to happen for her. The budget
was $150,000, and she raised $390,000 the first year. In the
spring of last year, she was tapped to step in and handle major
gifts as the development officer.
Today, Sara’s title is development officer for the Denver
Rescue Mission. She cultivates relationships on a major gift
level. This has been her job since May 2007. Prior to taking
this
position, she had grown the donor base from 400 names to
1,200, and she transferred these donors into her new role.
Proud of her work but also gratified that she has the opportunity
to do it, she says, “I’m 25 and just starting my
career.”
Modest about her accomplishments, Sara has difficulty
believing she is a role model but does understand that “young
girls may relate to me because of my past. I came from
Alamosa, an economically depressed area. My heart to the poor
started here. Coming from an area where poor were, it was not
an issue of segregation. People are overlooked and don’t
have
health care, roofs over their heads, food and so on.”
As she studied at the college level, Sara
realized other students’
parents financially assisted them, a situation that did
not describe her life. Her parents did not tell her she had
to
go to college. They were encouraging and told her they wanted
her to do what she felt drawn to do. She attended college,
as did her brother, who became a teacher.
She uses her own experiences to mentor other young
women. “I am passionate about telling kids they do
have
an opportunity to go to school and to do whatever they
want to do,” she says. She mentors a high school girl: “I
met her through the youth group, so we do talk about
Christianity and how to be a lady. The people she hangs
out with are not getting messages (that are appropriate).
The music she listens to gives wrong messages about
boys, about drugs. Her family is very broken, and she tells
me a lot about that.”
Sara feels the girl is listening to her, and she is encouraging
her to think about the future. Sara’s role modeling
has also
translated to the media. She was the subject of a commercial
filmed for Metro State. The message she offered in the commercial
was “I got my degree at Metro, and it’s helping
me
make a difference.”
Sara hopes to mentor other young people at the Denver
Rescue Mission. Calling mentorship at the Mission “a
huge
success,” she says that even people they’ve put
into permanent
housing are being mentored. “We are mentoring them
with their families,” she comments.
Having worked with mentors in her own life, Sara says her
best friend’s mom is a nonprofit guru in Alamosa and
adds, “This person was an influence in my life. A few teachers
in college
really encouraged me a lot.” Today, she credits her
boss at
the Rescue Mission with being a mentor. Sara also has a professional
mentor, explaining, “Because of my age, it’s
hard to be
in the field I’m in with people who are several years
my senior.”
Questions such as “What associations should I be in?” are
raised with her mentor, who is in the fund-raising field
and who
challenges her to forward-think.
Thrilled to be doing what she’s doing, Sara says, “The
lifestyle I live of giving back is so fulfilling and makes
me a
happy person. When friends get together to complain about
their work, I say that I’m happy and that I love to
go to work
everyday and make long-lasting friendships with those
around me.”
When not working, Sara enjoys food and fellowship. She
loves the arts, music, hanging out with friends, riding her
bike
and hiking. “Hiking and biking are my two loves,” she
says.
She also enjoys visiting and exploring other urban areas,
adding, “I like the diversity of cities; I like the
East Coast.”
Sara says that when she was in New York, she took a picture
of kids from various ethnicities. She represents several
ethnic backgrounds, too, including Italian, Irish, Mexican
and
a little Cherokee. “Growing up, one of my best friends
was
Jewish, one was Spanish. Even now, my friends reflect a
diversity, both economically and culturally,” she says.
Sara says she doesn’t ever see herself working in a
corporate
setting. “I see myself being in ministry. I would like
to
help people with grassroots organizations, particularly in
fund
raising, moving donors from initial giving to being major
donors,” she says. She would like to change lives,
save lives — maybe even internationally.
Sara says she is single and available: “I enjoy being
single.
I have flexibility.” For this very happy and fulfilled
young
woman, life is good.
