Left Hand Laurel: Murray Avila, Tomas Dabove and Zach Rojo

Three enterprising and compassionate high school students from the St. Vrain Valley School District are this week's Left Hand Laurel recipients for their creative – and highly successful efforts – to raise money for Ukrainian relief. They are Murray Avila, Tomas Dabove and Zach Rojo.

In February 2022, Dabove, a sophomore in high school at the time, started obsessing about the terrible news of Russia bombing Ukraine with thousands of innocent people – adults and children – being killed.

So he came up with the idea of standing outside the Niwot Market and asking people for donations, and soon his friends joined him. Rojo, an active member of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) group, solicited the help of the Longmont Rotary Club which began overseeing the fund-raising sessions and provided a matching grant. The Rotary Club also ensured the donations ended up in a reliable non-profit in Ukraine, in this case at the International Red Cross.

Dabove and his friends ultimately raised $4,000 to help the cause.

The three long-time friends are modest and humble about their achievement. "These two guys are my best friends," said Avila. Their friendship resulted in several Ukrainian fund-raising efforts together over the years.

In their sophomore year in 2022, they participated in about five fund-raising efforts and then more in 2023. They set up a table outside the Niwot Market on the weekends and simply politely asked people if they would like to donate. And many of them did. Customers also offered to buy the team breakfast and to spread the word among their friends.

Julia Bruce, a retired physician from the San Francisco Bay area who now lives in Colorado and oversees RYLA for the Longmont Rotary Club, would often join the fundraising efforts as an observer.

"These kids are intelligent and wonderful and if you want to get up-lifted and know that there will be great future leaders in America, sit in on one of their sessions," Bruce said.

The average donation was $5 to $10, said one of the teens, but one day, "someone dropped a check for $150 into our bowl," and "on a good day, 70% of the people entering the market would donate."

The group will continue its efforts and do some fund-raising at the Pearl Street mall in Boulder. "We have a meeting later this month to talk more about the future," Avila explained.

Dabove is studying for his pilot's license and wants to rent an airplane at the Boulder Airport. Avila works at the Innovation Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools, studies cyber tech, is on a coding team and wants to teach "literacy and awareness." Rojo has an internship with The Borgen Project, a non-profit organization fighting global poverty, and is learning how to lobby Congress on important matters.

A group of future leaders setting an example of philanthropy.