About

Mission

To provide programs that foster community, self-sufficiency and increase quality of life among Denver-area refugees.

Vision

A world in which all people are valued, included, and empowered.

Our Story

Project Worthmore began with relationships.

In 2011, founders Frank and Carolyn Anello began connecting with refugees in their community and quickly saw the challenges many families faced as they adjusted to life in Colorado. Frank and Carolyn had long felt called to do mission work and once imagined raising their family abroad while serving communities in need. But through their early connections with refugee families in Colorado, they came to realize that meaningful work did not require crossing the world. Sometimes it simply meant crossing the street.

Inspired by the relationships they were building, they began opening their home to newcomers.

What started with small acts of welcome soon grew into something more. Frank and Carolyn hosted informal English classes in their living room and planted a garden in their front yard to grow food they could share with neighbors. As new needs emerged, they helped individuals navigate unfamiliar systems, connect with resources, and access services that were often difficult to reach. When refugees needed dental care, they helped connect them with clinics across the state, sometimes driving people long distances to reach care available only once a year.

Conversation by conversation and person by person, a community began to form.

Over time, Frank and Carolyn became trusted sources of information, support, and care within the refugee community. As relationships deepened, they also began building connections with the broader Colorado community, creating new opportunities for collaboration and support.

Small spaces opened. Programs began to take shape. A dental clinic was established. Volunteers and staff joined the work.

What began as makeshift English classes in a living room has grown into Project Worthmore, a nonprofit organization that now provides six comprehensive programs designed to support newcomers as they build their lives in Colorado.

While the organization has grown, the heart of the work remains the same: meeting people where they are, building relationships, and creating a community where newcomers feel welcomed, supported, and able to thrive.

Our Clients

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee their country because of persecution, war or violence.

An estimated 60,000 people who have fled their home countries now call Colorado home. They came to this country as refugees, and from the day they arrive, they are challenged to forge a new life, pay rent within the first few months of arrival, adapt to a new culture, learn English, and navigate complex networks of public services and administration. The very first thing a refugee owns upon entering the USA is debt: They all must reimburse the cost of their plane tickets, a substantial financial burden, especially for large families.

Before arriving in Colorado, our clients lived all over the world. We serve refugees from over 25 countries who come from diverse cultures and backgrounds, and bring unique skills and perspectives to our community.  

Select a country below to learn more!

AfghanistanBhutanBurundiCARChinaColombiaCuba
DR CongoEritreaEthiopiaIraqIvory CoastMalaysiaMauritania
Myanmar (Burma)NepalNorth KoreaRussiaRwandaSomaliaSri Lanka
SudanSyriaThailandVenezuelaVietnam
X
  • Afghanistan
  • 1,853 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 2,624,225 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 13 people are refugees.
X
  • Bhutan
  • 3,684 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 7,929 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 102 people are refugees.
X
  • Burundi
  • 280 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 439,280 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 24 people are refugees.
X
  • CAR
  • 167 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 545,498 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 8 people are refugees.
X
  • China
  • 90 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 221,228 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 6,344 people are refugees.
X
  • Colombia
  • 125 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 191,607 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 257 people are refugees.
X
  • Cuba
  • 1,165 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 5,316 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 2,174 people are refugees.
X
  • DR Congo
  • 1,656 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 620,775 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 127 people are refugees.
X
  • Eritrea
  • 1,026 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 486,169 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 10 people are refugees.
X
  • Ethiopia
  • 2,596 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 87,388 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 1,175 people are refugees.
X
  • Iraq
  • 3,765 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 362,506 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 103 people are refugees.
X
  • Ivory Coast
  • 53 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 39,939 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 592 people are refugees.
X
  • Malaysia
  • 7 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 530 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 59,541 people are refugees.
X
  • Mauritania
  • 158 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 36,495 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 118 people are refugees.
X
  • Myanmar (Burma)
  • 5,314 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 1,156,732 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 46 people are refugees.
X
  • Nepal
  • 329 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 8,399 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 3,504 people are refugees.
X
  • North Korea
  • 18 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 1,161 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 21,851 people are refugees.
X
  • Russia
  • 6,083 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 61,569 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 2,341 people are refugees.
X
  • Rwanda
  • 137 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 258,956 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 46 people are refugees.
X
  • Somalia
  • 4,646 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 986,356 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 14 people are refugees.
X
  • Sri Lanka
  • 24 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 115,612 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 182 people are refugees.
X
  • Sudan
  • 1,204 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 694,506 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 57 people are refugees.
X
  • Syria
  • 270 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 6,308,619 refugees globally.
  • 1 out 3 people are refugees.
X
  • Thailand
  • 17 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 154 refugees globally.
  • 1 of 450,922 people are refugees.
X
  • Venezuela
  • 1 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 9,247 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 3,450 people are refugees.
X
  • Vietnam
  • 10,788 refugees have been resettled to Colorado.
  • 334,044 refugees globally.
  • 1 out of 287 people are refugees.
Refugees resettled in Colorado source – Colorado Dept. of Human Services (data from 1980-2017).

Global refugee numbers source – The Refugee Project.