Kate McBride puts her talents to work for a better community
Kate McBride’s family motto is, “Everyone has something to give.” And she takes that message to heart.
McBride not only runs the Morgan County Golden Stars nonprofit organization, but she also dedicates her time to delivering biweekly Meals on Wheels lunches to homebound individuals and distributing Foodbank of the Rockies’ mobile food pantry boxes every month. She also sits on the Morgan County Family Center Board, the SHARE Board and breeds dogs for a living.
“There’s never a day off,” McBride said. “I haven’t always worked in nonprofits. I just think that I have talents to give back. I’m really good at organizing things and running things. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a job; I just wanted to help my community. The various organizations that I work with seem to have needs that I can help meet, so it’s just a good fit.”
When she moved to Morgan County from Greeley about 20 years ago, she first discovered SHARE, the safe house facility and domestic violence program in Fort Morgan, and wanted to get involved.
McBride worked as an advocate with SHARE for many years before also getting involved in Morgan County Golden Stars.
A few years after she began volunteering with Golden Stars, Cindy Schneider, who was running the program at the time, stepped back. McBride saw the need for a leader, so she decided to get a 501(c)3 license and run the program as a nonprofit.
Golden Stars’ busiest time of the year is from October through December due to its main event: the Christmas Giving Drive.
The nonprofit takes referrals from local agencies, verifying that a child or a family is in need. (This system prevents people from just calling McBride and asking for free Christmas presents.) Once referred, Golden Stars have the family fill out a form with details like the children’s clothes and shoe sizes and what kind of toys they like.
Through the drive, Golden Stars is able to provide two outfits, two toys, a coat and a pair of shoes for each child in the community who is in need.
“All of the items we provide are brand new because we feel like these kids throughout the year get hand-me-downs, and so at Christmastime, (these gifts are) something that they can get brand new,” said McBride.
Because of Morgan County residents’ continued generosity, last year, Golden Stars was even able to provide $50 or $100 gift cards (depending on the size of the family) to every family they helped during Christmastime. McBride reported that in 2021, the nonprofit was able to serve about 650 people.
For the past few years, Golden Stars was able to use the old middle school building in Fort Morgan as a hub, but this year they are looking for a new location.
“We’re going to have a bigger venue this year because the community is just awesome at giving back,” said McBride, who is open to hearing new venue suggestions.
For anyone interested in getting involved in Morgan County Golden Stars, McBride recommends visiting its Facebook group and sending a personal message asking to be included on the email list.