Building Connections Outdoors in Colorado

At first glance, they make an improbable pair.

ViVE is a social-justice-oriented nonprofit that serves mostly Denver-area Latine residents through programs that range from swimming lessons to community services like a food bank. The century-old Colorado Mountain Club is a historically white conservation and mountain-skills education group now working to broaden who feels at home in the Rockies.

Together, however, the decade-old ViVE and the venerable mountain club lead an ambitious effort to connect people across lines of race, language, culture, and experience.

Outdoor Unidos, Outdoor Together

Their joint, eight-month program — Outdoor Unidos, or Outdoor Together — introduces about 60 wilderness newcomers to Colorado’s celebrated outdoor recreation scene, including camping, rafting, paddle boarding, and rock climbing. The group brings together families who have lived in Colorado for generations; established immigrants who have been in the United States for decades; and newer arrivals from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and other South American countries — a rare mix of people and cultures at a time when immigration is fracturing communities across the country.

Whatever their differences, participants are typically new to many of the activities and bond over learning together, says Yoli Casas, ViVe’s founding executive director. “Everyone’s on an even playing field.”

Part of Belonging Colorado

Outdoor Unidos is part of Belonging Colorado, one of the largest initiatives by a community foundation to build connections between Americans in this age of division.

The Denver Foundation launched the effort statewide in 2024 and has invested more than $8 million in grants, research, communications, and technical assistance. It’s also partnering with the Greater Good Science Center to provide training in science-based bridge-building skills for grantees and leadership networks. The goal: help communities build stronger relationships, navigate differences, and create a greater sense of belonging across Colorado.

The foundation envisions Belonging Colorado as a long-term effort, says Erika Montes, the foundation’s lead for the initiative. “Building belonging across a state takes sustained commitment, and this is the work we have to continue investing in over time.”

Beyond Belonging

Now in its second year, Outdoor Unidos participants are connecting even outside the bridge-building activities. Fourteen-year-old Mauricio Muñoz, whose parents immigrated to the United States from Mexico before he was born, says families often trade stories about their lives and histories at the campfire at night. 

“It gets really personal and really emotional at times,” he says, particularly when more recent immigrants from South America describe the hardships of their journeys to Colorado and their struggles to adjust to their new homes.

Muñoz and 17-year-old Adan Rivas are helping to lead upcoming summer adventures after participating last year. They say the group has been able to discuss sensitive topics, including immigration policy.

Rivas, a Venezuelan who arrived in Colorado with his family three years ago, says Outdoor Unidos has become an important source of community as he struggles to build strong friendships at school. Now he wants to help others build connections.

“We are not as different as we think we are,” he says. “I really want to build places where people are not afraid of talking to anyone, because loneliness is one of the most dangerous things ever.”