The DAA Collective newsletter keeps Denver's afterschool community connected to resources, professional learning and networking opportunities. Learn more about us.
Happy Holidays From The Denver Afterschool Alliance
The Denver Afterschool Alliance wants to extend our most heartfelt appreciation to all of you in the Out-of-School Time Community for your continued commitment to serving youth and families in the City and County of Denver. 2024 was both a challenging and a triumphant year- we are so proud to do the work we do alongside all of you. We look forward to even more opportunities to celebrate and advocate for all of you and the important work you all do in 2025. From all of us at the Denver Afterschool Alliance we hope you all enjoy a well-deserved holiday break! See you in 2025! Here are a few snaps captured of our highlights from 2024:
2024 Afterschool Professional Award Winners.Bottom Row (L-R): Euda K. Best; Yoli Casas; Janaya Alirez; Top Row (L-R): Jesse Broadfoot; Jesus Rodriguez; Kimberlee Sia
Voices From the Field Spotlights:Kewhan Dickerson (Left) and Laura Castillo (Right)
Coffee and Conversation Events:Tamera Sakotas from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science leads an interactive activity in the Prehistoric Exhibit (Top Left); Executive Director of the Office of Children's Affairs, Dwight Jones, participates in a Q & A session (Top Right); Quality Coach, Jami Powell, facilitates a discussion on proactive problem solving (Bottom Left); Panelists from Denver-area youth-serving organizations speak to how they elevate and incorporate youth voice in programming.
2024 National Lights on Afterschool: Youth pose with Lightbulbs in celebration of National Lights on Afterschool from Munroe Elementary School (Top Left); Struggle of Love Foundation (Top Right); Heart and Hand Center (Bottom Left); Valverde Elementary School (Bottom Right).
2024 National Lights on Afterschool: Youth pose with Denver City Council Members Diana Romero Campbell and Paul Kashmann at the National Lights on Afterschool proclamation signing on October 28, 2024.
2024 National Summer Learning Week: Artwork created by youth from DPS Extended Learning and Community Schools, ViVe Wellness, Colorado Dream Foundation and Sun Valley Youth Center on display in front of the Denver City and County Building with the State Capitol in the background.
Professional Learning Sessions:Facilitators, Monica Padilla, DPS Trauma-Informed Practices Specialist (Left) and DAA Quality Counts Lead, John Lewis (Right) lead professional learning workshops.
Shout Outs
Congratulations to our friends at ViVe Wellness as they were spotlighted in Caring for Denver Foundation's newsletter and website with a beautiful video! Caring for Denver recently awarded ViVe Wellness a grant to provide emotional wellness programs for youth newcomers who are experiencing homelessness in Denver. These programs focus on mental health support grounded in cultural traditions, beliefs, and language-appropriate care to help these youth settle into their new home of Denver.
Congratulations to Dedrick Sims, CEO of the Sims-Fayola Foundation, for being selected as the 2024 Denver Broncos' Inspire Change Changemaker! The Inspire Change Changemaker Award recognizes an individual in each NFL team market making a difference in their community with their social justice work. Dedrick was honored during this past Sunday's Broncos game!
To learn more about the 2024 Inspire Change Changemakers, click HERE.
Tasty Food Holiday Schedule
Get Ready for Winter Break with Tasty Food!
We’ve got you covered with FREE meals all winter break (12/23/24 – 1/3/25)! No registration or ID needed, just come enjoy a fresh meal at any Tasty Food site. Don’t miss out—fuel your holiday break with Tasty Food!
Find more info:https://denvergov.org/tastyfood
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
¡Prepárate para las vacaciones de invierno con Tasty Food!
¡Te ofrecemos COMIDAS GRATIS durante todo el receso (12/23/24 – 1/3/25)! No necesitas registro ni identificación, solo ven y disfruta de una comida fresca en cualquier sitio de Tasty Food. ¡No te lo pierdas—recarga energías estas vacaciones con Tasty Food!
Más info: https://denvergov.org/tastyfood
Esta institución es un proveedor que ofrece igualdad de oportunidades.
Holiday Resources for Families
The holiday season can be a very trying time for youth and families. Here are a few resources available in the Denver area to hopefully help alleviate some of the strain this year.
Join Canvas Credit Union for a FREE family-friendly day filled with fun and holiday spirit! Every child (ages 2-12) will receive a special gift from Santa!
Holidays for Kids
Saturday, December 21
10 AM-1 PM Gold Crown Fieldhouse 150 S Harlan St, Lakewood
The Christmas Tree Project offers fully decorated Christmas trees at no cost to families in need. To request a tree, please visit the website and fill out the Request-A-Tree form HERE.
Bienvenidos Food Bank will open its doors on the first three Thursdays of December (December 5,12,19) to distribute fresh and nonperishable food items to low-income seniors, individuals, and families. No appointment necessary. The hours of operation are 10 am – noon and 3:30 - 5:30 pm.
Winter break and spring term are just around the corner!
Are you offering programs during winter break? Do your programs change in the spring term? Make sure to update your program schedule in DAAconnect so that families can easily find you on the Youth Program Locator. If you are not on the Youth Program Locator or need to update your information, please login to DAAconnect today and update your programs.
FilmSeen is an incredible opportunity for LGBTQIA+ youth ages 13-18 to dive into the world of filmmaking! This FREE program, brought to you by YouthSeen and SeriesFest's Mobile Cinema Lab, is designed to help young creatives tell their stories and bring them to life on screen.
Participants will:
Learn the essentials of preproduction, production, and postproduction.
Work alongside industry professionals to create their own short films.
Celebrate their creations at a special screening event!
Program Dates: January 28 - February 27 Time: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:00-8:00 PM Location: At YouthSeen (address shared after registration)
Spots are limited to just 20 participants, so register HERE today!
Spread the word about this incredible opportunity by sharing thisprogram flyer with your networks!
Applications are open for the Denver Sister Cities International's Denver Young Ambassador Program! The Denver Young Ambassador program is a life-changing initiative that gives Denver teens (ages 14–17) the opportunity to experience immersive cultural exchanges, foster meaningful collaborations, and amplify Denver’s voice in the global community.
Scholarships are available! For more information, click HERE.
Community Opportunities
Transform Education Now (TEN) is hosting an upcoming School Choice Event to support families in exploring educational opportunities for their children.
This event will provide valuable resources, information, and connections to help families make informed decisions about their child’s education.
Event Details:
Date: Saturday, January 25th
Time: 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Location: Infinity Park Event Center, 4400 E Kentucky Ave, Glendale, CO 80246
Please spread the word out to your communities with the following flyers (there is a QR code available on the flyers to register to attend): English Spanish
EQurious Miranda’s musings on all things SEAL
Right Brain Refresh!
Hello Qurious Readers!
How are we at the end of 2024? I want to share a bit about my experience at our most recent Coffee and Conversation Experience at Art from Ashes. It sparked my EQuriosity about the power of a right brain refresh (not sure if I just made that up or heard it somewhere!) and how I can carry this into 2025. Liza Hubbell, the Program Manager at Art from Ashes, led us through a beautiful poetry mini workshop that was so powerful and connecting. While it felt transformative during our time together, I’m even more curious about the impact it had on me after. I felt lighter, inspired and motivated---I felt refreshed. I often feel bogged down and overwhelmed by tasks on my work and personal to-do list (can anyone relate to that??) and don’t make time and space to activate the creative part of my right brain. Key functions of the right side include creativity, intuition, holistic thinking, spatial awareness and emotion and nonverbal communication. While I do a lot of emotional intelligence work, I can get caught up in the minutia of the day-to-day and do not slow down and lean into the creativity, self-connection, and vulnerability that can be ignited by leveraging the right side of my brain. I noticed this refreshing right brain experience simultaneously ignited my left brain, a necessity for me to focus and lean into details and tasks. My productivity was astounding and I felt rejuvenated and accomplished!
When a new year approaches, I consider a word that serves as a “theme” for the year ahead. BALANCE is the word coming to mind after reflecting on this experience (stay tuned for the January post to see if I stick with that!). How can I balance my head and my heart, my right and left brain, and prioritize activities that provide right brain refreshes which I learned lights up my entire brain (thank you, Liza!)? What refreshes you and lights you up? Your co-workers/team? Your young people? I invite you to explore a right brain refresh and see what happens.
Wishing you all time for rest and relaxation as we close out 2024. Thank you for reading and until next time…stay EQurious!
