There are few free places in Montrose where families can hang out and connect. Rachel and Daniel Burris are changing that.
Serving Youth and Community in Montrose, Colorado
The Burris’ new non-profit, GROW Community Center, is on a mission to “connect people by offering free events like bowling, park days, golf days, rec days, field trips, youth nights, bible studies for kids, youth, young adults, couples and individuals and more.”
The idea for GROW started when Rachel was finishing her degree in early childhood, and she realized that there wasn’t any access to childcare unless families qualified for The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), and even then, there would be a huge waitlist. GROW percolated in the back of Burris’ mind for a long time. When the idea first came here, she was living in rough times herself. “I was coming from being a single mom with no money, way below the poverty line. I could see that there was a gaping hole in our community, but I also didn’t feel like I had the tools to fill that,” said Rachel. The idea followed her as she established herself in the community and married. In 2025, GROW became a reality.
Rachel and her husband, Daniel, started GROW with a “do what you can right now” mentality. In the last few months, the organization has hosted three free community events, and they have their sights set on even more support for the community, such as paying for tutoring, art and music classes, sports registration fees, and more for kids. In fact, they just paid out their first donation-funded $150 scholarship for a youth in the community to use toward the activity of their choice.
Free Events in Montrose
The Burris’ goal with GROW Community Center is to bring people together. “There’s all these different pockets of community, but there’s not really a central location for people to meet diverse groups of people and hang out and mingle for free,” Rachel said.
Past GROW Community Center events have included a game night at San Juan Brews featuring free food and family games, a free bowling night at Montrose Rose Bowl, and wiffle ball and volleyball in Buckley Park. The events have been well-attended, which speaks to the need for these types of events in Montrose. For example, bowling night brought out 70-75 people, with ages ranging from 0-75, with attendees traveling all the way from Delta. Upcoming events include a meet and greet potluck for families interested in joining a homeschool co-op in Fall 2025.
“We just want to feed people. And so it really is the gospel coming to life. Love your neighbor, feed people, and take care of people. That’s really what the mission of GROW is, is just to show the love of Jesus to people in our community,” said Burris.
GROW Community Center’s website also hosts a resource page that people can go to for resources such as food, transportation, recovery, housing, and bible study resources. “As a mom and a homeschooling person, it was really difficult to pull together all these resources,” Burris said. She wants to make it easier on the community.
Rachel Burris in Montrose
Burris spent time in the foster system and has a heart for helping children. She has been pouring herself into the Montrose community for a long time. Burris started CleanCo, a cleaning solutions company, in 2016 when she was working at a daycare, finishing her associate’s in early childhood education. She realized she couldn’t make ends meet as a single mom on her daycare salary and began cleaning. The business grew organically from there. Today, CleanCo is one of the top cleaning companies in Montrose, having serviced clients such as Cobble Creek Golf Course, Colorado Mesa University, Edward Jones, Ridgway Valley Enterprises, and many more.
Even as a business owner, Rachel is committed to serving the community. “Cleaning businesses have a stigma that people hire people and treat them like garbage and don’t consider family life and don’t care if they’re safe or getting enough rest. That’s the opposite of how we do business. I just really wanted to give people the opportunity to work for a company that cares about them.” said Burris about staffing CleanCo.
GROW Community Center was founded from the same natural need. Aside from the rec center and a few flourishing church communities, Burris and her husband saw a real demand for community spaces—” somewhere safe and healthy for people and families to go when it’s cold out, when it’s dark and when everything else is closed,” alongside a central hub for the growing homeschool community.
Support for GROW Community Center
Daniel and Rachel haven’t been able to do it alone; the community has rallied behind their efforts to support GROW’s flourishing vision. San Juan Brews provided space for their game night, Grace Community Church’s Love the Western Slope random act of kindness ministry, provided water for the wiffle ball event, and will support upcoming events. Last, but not least, the Burris’ attribute their growth and success to Jesus.
“Daniel and I give all the glory to Jesus Christ for the success of our businesses, and GROW. Without Him, none of this would be possible. We are walking miracles, coming from broken homes and ugly pasts, walking in the newness of life that is God’s amazing grace.”
Learn more about GROW Community Center at https://www.growcommunitycenter.com/
Image credit: Jade and Copper Photography
