Denver Area Youth Make Incredible Impact on Global Youth Service Day, Get Visit from Denver Broncos Lineman Garett Bolles

By Corey Christiansen, Denver Metro Area News Media Specialist

When 17-year-old Taz Carlson from Denver looked out over the gigantic crowd of youth that recently gathered at the Denver Stake Center, he got excited. “We’ve got a lot of energy and a lot of heart for this sort of stuff,” he said.

The “stuff” meant all of the service projects Taz and his fellow teenagers volunteered to complete for the 2026 Global Youth Service Day. This was a monumental undertaking with approximately 1,000 youth ages 12-18 descending on one church building. They came from as far away as Parker and Boulder–a distance of about 50 miles. And they all came with one goal: to make someone else’s life a little better.

Juliette Lewis from Denver really enjoyed her activity of making blankets for children who are going through a medical crisis and are staying with their families at the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Denver. The 14-year-old said, “It makes me happy because we have a lot of things here and some kids don’t have anything, and this makes a lot of difference.”

More than a dozen service projects were spread throughout the church building, the church parking lot and even a neighboring park. Local leaders with JustServe organized the entire event and paired the eager youth with many local nonprofits and organizations. As a tie-in to this year’s celebration of America 250, each project had a goal to complete at least 250 (or 2,500) items.

Here are some highlights of what the youth accomplished during the event:

• 250 heart pillows – Cut, stuffed and sewed heart pillows for women with breast cancer. The pillows will go to Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.
• 250 baby clothing/care bags – Assembled baby clothing and toiletry bags for newborns and wrote a “congratulations” card to put in the bag in collaboration with WeeCycle.
• 250 t-shirt bags – Made reusable bags out of t-shirts for individuals getting food at local food pantries. The bags will go to SECOR Cares & Parker Task Force.
• 2,500 feminine hygiene kits – Assembled hygiene kits and laundry sheets for those in need. All products were donated and will be distributed by Justice Necessary.
• 250 pieces of trash – Picked up trash in the nearby Bible Park in conjunction with Denver Parks & Recreation.
• 250 meal delivery bags – Decorated bags for individuals who receive Meals on Wheels deliveries. Collaborated with Project Angel Heart for this project.
• 250 “pocket hugs” – Created small soft sensory squishies for local  students to calm themselves and/or provide sensory input to help them concentrate at school.
• 250 cards – Created handmade thank you cards for local first responders and veterans plus cards with uplifting messages for local hospital patients.
• 600 non-perishable food items – Collected shelf-stable food items to donate to Downtown Denver Islamic Center and Jewish Family Services.

WeeCycle is a nonprofit based in Denver that regularly collaborates with JustServe. Its mission is to provide baby essentials like clothing, diapers and cribs to families in need. Jennifer Perry is WeeCycle’s Volunteer Coordinator and she brought a truck full of donated clothes that the youth then sorted to create multiple baby outfits. She was thrilled with all the help she received.

“This was an amazing turnout,” Perry said. “Certainly more youth than we expected, but the more the merrier and we were able to make quick work of all of the things that we had to do. I even had some of the older youth helping me load the truck back up. So my job is much easier now. I can just get in and drive back to the warehouse and unload. So this was a great turnout with so many young people. I’m so glad to see that they want to help the community.”

Another unique activity for the youth was to learn about famous Americans they’re related to and where their ancestors are from. Ten consultants from FamilySearch were on hand to help youth with this project. They also helped youth post a photo and a memory of an ancestor as part of a new collaboration between FamilySearch and America250.

Once all of the service projects were completed, the youth grabbed dinner in the parking lot courtesy of Chick-fil-A and then gathered in the chapel and cultural hall. Throughout the evening, they listened intently to inspired messages from Church leaders and a local sports hero.

The first speaker of the evening was Denver Broncos offensive lineman Garett Bolles who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As Bolles made his way to the microphone, his 6’5”, 300-pound frame completely dwarfed the pulpit. Although he’s an intimidating foe on the football field, he was a gentle giant in this setting who spoke about how his faith has helped him achieve success both on and off the football field.

Garett Bolles (left) with Elder Thad Brown

Bolles recounted how his youth was full of difficulties including learning to manage having ADHD, getting kicked out of school and even becoming homeless shortly after high school. He shared a quote he said means a lot to him: “It doesn’t matter how you start, it matters how you finish.” He told the youth that he wears a necklace with a triangle and explained that the triangle is the strongest shape because all of the sides have to hold equal weight. For him, those sides are faith, family and football–and they have to be in that order. He emphasized that God has to come first.

Following Bolles, the youth were able to hear from two Area Seventies and a General Authority Seventy. Area Seventy Elder Andrew Child focused on teaching the youth that miracles happen through Jesus Christ. He said that we are here to use our agency to choose God which is exactly what the youth had done as they participated in the Global Youth Service Day.

Elder Thad Brown who is also an Area Seventy next spoke about making good choices. He brought Bolles up again to the pulpit to stand next to him and said, “My friends, if you choose Christ, you will look like this.” Clarifying that not everyone can be as big as an NFL lineman, he encouraged the youth to not look at Bolles’ physical appearance, but rather to look into Bolles’ eyes to see that he is someone who chooses Christ.

Elder Brown also spoke about the importance of each young woman and young man knowing that they are truly God’s children. “Do you think the Lord knows you by name?” he said.  “I hope you recognize that He does. He knows you infinitely and intimately. I can promise you that. He knows you better than you do. Choosing the path of discipleship will make all the difference in your life.”

Elder Ozani Farias, General Authority Seventy for the Church was the final speaker. He shared his experience growing up in Brazil and being introduced to the Church by a friend on his youth soccer team. His friend gave him a copy of The Book of Mormon and later introduced him to a pair of missionaries serving in the area. That one invitation led Elder Farias to be baptized and to join the Church along with 10 of his friends.

Speaking about the influence that each of the youth in the audience can have on their friends, Elder Farias gave them an invitation. “I want to invite you to take a new copy of The Book of Mormon,” he said. “And you can highlight some of your favorite scriptures. And as you highlight some of your favorite scriptures, write down your testimony. And share a copy of this book with a friend. I promise you that you will see miracles. I have seen many miracles because of this book. I know this book is true because it saved my life.”

(From L to R) Elder Ozani Farias, Garett Bolles, Elder Andrew Child, Elder Thad Brown