Denver Urban Scholars Walk of Fame, 20 Years in the Making: Mile High United Way
When and how did Mile High United Way become involved with Denver Urban Scholars?
Denver Urban Scholars became one of our investment partners in 2010. We are now in our sixth year of providing funding to Denver Urban Scholars.
In addition to funding, this past year Denver Urban Scholars was selected as one of five organizations to participate in the Mile High United Way Performance Collaborative. Mile High United Way’s Performance Collaborative coaches meet with key Denver Urban Scholars staff twice a month to develop and strengthen areas such as program definition, measurement strategy, and data utilization.
Why has Mile High United Way felt that it’s important to support Denver Urban Scholars?
Mile High United Way believes that all young people should have the opportunity to graduate from high school ready for college or the workforce. Denver Urban Scholars is very much in alignment with this community goal through their work with youth who face multiple barriers to success. DUS is delivering a comprehensive, holistic model that has the ability to transform the lives of these young people. Mentoring, coupled with case management and financial support is a concentrated approach that has the power to break down the challenging barriers that many of our youth face
We also recognize Denver Urban Scholars as having the ingredients of a high performing non-profit organization. With its strong and committed leadership, high quality staff, willingness to learn and embrace change, and data driven orientation, we believe that Denver Urban Scholars can deliver on its targets and reach strong outcomes in the community.
What do you see as the largest impact Denver Urban Scholars has on the community?
By helping youth attain their academic and career goals, Denver Urban Scholars is building a strong workforce for the future of our community. Denver Urban Scholars is helping youth to identify their own goals, while building the skills and confidence to reach those goals. Transformation is certainly taking place within a youth’s academic journey, as we see greater motivation for these youth to attend and complete school and greater support for them to excel while in school. With greater confidence and dedicated support and exposure, youth are also seeking opportunities after high school, whether through post-secondary education or suitable job and career options.
Anything you would like to add?
Within the first year of our Performance Collaborative process, we have already seen significant transformation within the Denver Urban Scholars program. In working so closely with the organization, we have been especially impressed with the level of staff and leadership commitment and persistence to building a strong and impactful program. We know that all of this hard work and commitment has and will continue to pay great dividends to the children and youth DUS serves.