DENVER — A nonprofit in Colorado offers students equal access to academic development as well as social and emotional support through its free after-school and summer programs.
The Colorado Dream Foundation has been serving students in marginalized communities since 1988. The nonprofit's locations in Green Valley Ranch and the Westwood neighborhoods act as a community hub where low-income families can utilize their services.
“It absolutely provides them with access to a resource that keeps their kids safe, keeps their kids learning both academically and socially and emotionally, and keeps them fed,” said Kaye Taavialma, president and CEO of the foundation. “The demographics in our Z Place [Opportunity Center] location out in Green Valley Ranch are over 90% free and reduced lunch families that we serve, 90% youth and families of color, and then we have a high immigrant and refugee population out there and those demographics are pretty similar out here in the Westwood community.”
The summer programs work with students to help them build relationships and keep them focused during their break from the classroom.
“We embed learning, so the kids don’t feel like they're coming to a full day of school, yet they get opportunities to continue to practice their writing, their speaking, their arithmetic,” Taavialma said. “Hitting that sweet spot of having kids engaged and while also embedding learning is the magic space where learning and acceleration really happen.”
Students participate in games and activities for academic development, social/emotional learning and preparation for college and career.
“I believe the work that we do and where we do it really matters and helps be transformational to the kids and families that we serve,” Taavialma said. “We really intentionally look to skill-build and resource our youth in a way that helps ensure they have all the tools they need to be successful in their life beyond just even K-12.”
The out-of-school program is helping students like 9-year-old Ezra Gallegos make friends. He’s in his second year of attending the summer program and feels the activities are helping him become more efficient while cultivating new friendships.
“Last year, I felt people were really welcoming, and they were helpful because I didn’t know anybody,” Gallegos said. “I’ve already made like four new friends, so I am really happy right now in this school.”
Bobby McGreal is an engagement specialist for the foundation and said that, in most cases, both parents are working to make ends meet.
“A lot of parents work for long hours of the day,” McGreal said. “So, we provide a free program for them that not only offers some kind of education or social/emotional development but provides free lunch, free breakfast for them.”
Taavialma said they’ve seen an increase in outreach for resources from the families they serve in both the Green Valley Ranch and Westwood communities.
“Trying to figure out how you coordinate summer care when you have a full-time job is just a full-time job in and of itself,” Taavialma said. “I don’t think I could overstate enough how important it is to have programs like this embedded in the communities in which we exist because it's transformational for families.”
The foundation believes it’s their investment in Colorado’s children that could ultimately change the trajectory of a child’s life.
“It's our long-term commitment to our partnership with our families,” Taavialma said.
“The fact that we are able to provide free summer camp programming and free after-school programming during the school year to support the families of these two communities is a game-changer for so many of the families.”
Click here for more information about the Colorado Dream Foundation.