Growing Home (GH) today announced the passing of its Founder, Kathleen Drozda, on August 6th, after losing her yearlong battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

Growing Home is a North Denver-based non-profit organization that offers a network of programs for individuals and families. As its Founder, Mrs. Drozda brought awareness to the challenges of families experiencing or at risk of becoming unhoused, helping to develop programs and services to address their needs and catalyze partnerships to transform the future of many.

“This is the end of an incredible chapter for Growing Home,” said Michelle Bettis, Chair of the GH Board of Directors. “Kathleen founded this organization in 1998 and guided it through different stages of growth for over 26 years. She imagined the impossible and made it happen. I speak on behalf of the entire Board when I say that we will forever be grateful for all she did for Growing Home and for homelessness prevention, food security, parenting education, and programs to advance financial resiliency for local families. We are confident that Veronica Perez, CEO, will continue the trajectory that Kathleen led us on to move Growing Home’s mission forward.”

A nurse by training and a tireless community advocate, Mrs. Drozda began her career as a clinician at St. Anthony North Hospital. After engaging a woman who appeared to be living in her car with two dogs in the hospital’s parking lot, she learned the woman had fled a domestic violence situation. Mrs. Drozda asked the hospital’s director if they could offer her temporary shelter until a longer-term solution could be found. He approved and this event led to the founding of the nonprofit as the Adams County Interfaith Hospitality Network, that would later become Growing Home.

Over time and with the partnership of the hospital, the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, Regis University, local community and faith based leaders, dozens of congregations, and hundreds of volunteers, Mrs. Drozda established a network of transitional shelter resources under the Canopy Program. She served as CEO, Board Chair, and other roles at Growing Home and received numerous awards, including the Spirit of Planetree Award in 2014 for improving the lives of the community.

This is an excerpt from the message Mrs. Drozda delivered last fall at GH’s gala on occasion of its milestone anniversary:

“We came together for a common cause and share memories celebrating 25 years. In 1998, a chance encounter gave birth to Growing Home. The founding idea was that a community using a neighbor-to-neighbor approach could successfully support its own families in providing shelter and food in times of crisis. Hundreds of volunteers worked hand in hand in those early years, and many of you are still connected to Growing Home and have shared the journey to this milestone anniversary.

To those of you who have donated time, dollars, food, and gift cards, I thank you! To those of you who moved furniture, families’ belongings, cooked, cleaned, drove trucks, carried boxes, did laundry, and volunteered for so many tasks to support the Shelter Program and keep it going over the years, there are no words of gratitude that suffice. But I will try with a heartfelt “thank you”, not just from me, but from all the families and individuals you helped, and for the children whose smiles you brought to life in times of need.

As we celebrate our 25th anniversary year, we are reenergized and focused on our next generation at “Growing Home,” now a multi-program nonprofit that is maximizing its capacity and building on our learning and successes. In 2022, almost 250 volunteers provided over 6,000 hours of time to Growing Home’s mission, AND over 40 partner organizations joined us in our integrated effort to respond to our community’s needs. We are grateful to each of you, our supporters, who continually invest in building our capacity to serve our community!

There are so many things I would like to share tonight. Above all, I want to say I am so proud to be part of the community and that my heart is full of hope as we look forward to the next 25 years of Growing Home. And last, but certainly not least a quote from Mother Theresa, “It’s not how much you do, but how much love you put into what you do, that counts. Thank you!”

At a remembrance event this week with GH staff, Ms. Perez relayed the following message:

“Kathleen saw building GH as the privilege of a lifetime, and she was incredibly proud of the contributions we have made to improving the lives and wellbeing of North Denver families. I am confident that our outstanding and dedicated leadership and staff will continue to move our programs forward as a tribute to the spirit and determination of our founder.”

Ms. Perez added, “Since I first met Kathleen in 2022 and became a member of the Growing Home community, I have been in awe. Kathleen was a force of nature, a fierce and effective advocate for children and families, and a true visionary. She was also a dear friend. Without question, her impact on our community has been enormous and, quite frankly, unmatched. Though I wish that Kathleen could have continued her incredible and effective guidance of GH for the next decades, I am nonetheless honored to lead the programs she loved.”

Mrs. Drozda is survived by her husband Gregg Drozda, her sister, Carol (Mark) Rickman, and friends and family who loved her deeply.

The family requests that any gifts in memory of Kathleen be made to Growing Home or a favorite charity to continue her legacy.