SVP Denver’s 2009-2010 Grantees
COLORADO YOUTH AT RISK
CYAR has developed a powerful mentoring model that has produced consistent results in motivating youth at-risk of dropping out, to finish high school. Steps Ahead for Youth is a one-year dropout prevention program for ninth graders made up of three components: a three-day residential Launch Course retreat, intensive one-on-one mentoring and regular community workshops. After completing Steps Ahead, students can participate in the Touchstone Leadership Program, which is designed to follow the student through their high school graduation. The Touchstone program leadership training, and ongoing support through a mentor and monthly community meetings. CYAR works with students at Manual and George Washington High School. All of the students come from low-income families and most lack role models who succeeded in school. 95% of youth who participate in the Steps Ahead program stay in school, and 97% of youth who remain in the Touchstone program graduate.
Colorado Youth at Risk empowers teenage students to make life choices that positively impact their future through community-based mentoring and intensive training. Our aim is to reduce the number of high school dropouts, match students with an adult mentor and provide students with a sense of the future.
ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING FOR KIDS (ELK) 
The formation of ELK arose from the realization of the necessity for positive action, encouragement, and support to develop responsible values and behavior in today's youth. The ELK staff has over 18 years of combined working experience with urban youth. The students must make a yearlong commitment to participate in the program as a volunteer. Students who have been involved for one year and exhibit enthusiasm and leadership are invited to become a Youth Mentor in order to provide peer support to new and continuing students. This active participation will help these young people to realize their place in the community and the surrounding environment.
The activities are designed to build on the previous one so that the students experience the most complete exposure possible to their natural environment. On each activity there is always a trained, professional wildlife and/or aquatic biologist to ensure that we are providing quality and accurate information to our students. With the outdoors as their classroom, students will come to know and understand themselves, establish new goals, and explore natural resources in Colorado. Students create slide shows of activities and practice public speaking when presenting to youth groups and neighborhood associations. Also, they are encouraged to express their experiences through journals and photographic scrapbooks.
SECOND WIND FUND OF METRO DENVER
The mission of the SWFMD is to decrease the incidence of teen suicide by
removing financial and social barriers to treatment for all at-risk youth.
SWFMD operates in the Denver metro area; nearly 1,600 metro Denver youth
have been referred to us for ongoing counseling.
SWF was formed after four teen suicides in a Jefferson County, Colorado high
school during the 2001-2002 school year. Through the SWFMD, services are
accessible to every youth 19 and under in the Denver metro area (Adams,
Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Jefferson, and Park counties) and through the
SWF affiliates in Douglas, El Paso, Mesa, and Teller counties. Referrals are
normally made through school counselors, whether at public, private, charter, or
choice schools, although youth being home-schooled or no longer attending school
are also eligible.
Colorado has historically had one of the highest suicide rates in the
country. With mental health insurance and access to services dwindling, the need
for SWF services will likely -unfortunately- continue to grow.
YOUNG PHILANTHROPISTS FOUNDATION (YPF) 
http://www.ypfoundation.org
The Young Philanthropists Foundation (YPF) is dedicated to engaging youth in philanthropy by creating opportunities for kids and families to give back to their community. The organization believes that philanthropy is anything you do to make the world a better place, and base their programming on a simple philosophy: if you give kids the opportunity to make a difference now, they will continue to make a difference the rest of their lives.
9News YPF's Penny Harvest Coverage from December 2008