The Dandelion Project of the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center and Bridging the Gap at the Mile High United Way Awarded a $1,000 Youthpower Grant to Lead Global Youth Service Day Campaign
By Christina Wessell
Denver, CO, April 21, 2008 -  The Dandelion Project of the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center and Bridging the Gap at the Mile High United Way were awarded a $1,000 YouthPower grant from Youth Service America to lead a Global Youth Service Day campaign on April 26, 2008. The funding supports organizations that work with youth in foster care and youth who have recently transitioned out of foster care in planning and implementing their own service project in their community. The grant program is funded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Our Global Youth Service Day event is a collaborative effort between two youth-serving organizations: Bridging the Gap at Mile High United Way, serves young adults transitioning out of foster care and the child welfare system. The Dandelion Project, a horticultural therapy program for youth, serves the mental health needs of children currently in foster care. One of our gardens is moving to a new site in the Highland neighborhood, less than ten blocks from the Mile High United Way building where the Denver chapter of Bridging the Gap meets. This garden has sat vacant for nearly ten years, and we have been making a major clean-up effort. Community volunteers have helped throughout the fall and spring to begin to remove trash and weeds, and to prepare the soil The Service Project: On Saturday, April 26, from 10 am to 1 pm, the youth leadership planning committee will facilitate a garden planting day and potluck/barbeque. On this “opening day” of the season we will work together to plant dozens of plants to beautify the site and create many growing zones: edible plants, roses, flowering shrubs, perennials, herbs, etc. The young adults will lead an educational awareness-raising session using speech, poetry, and/or music to convey the challenges of being in foster care and transitioning into young adulthood out of foster care, and the importance of support for programs such as Bridging the Gap and The Dandelion Project. A Question and Answer session will allow neighbors to understand what they can expect from the gardening program, and help them feel comfortable with the program taking place in their back yards.   “At the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center, as well as at Bridging the Gap, we emphasize providing youth with the resources, skills, and information they need to function well as individuals, as a group, and ultimately, as members of society. Our Global Youth Service Day event will bring together young people and the surrounding community to work side-by-side, creating a beautiful garden which will enhance the lives of the youth participants as well as neighbors” explained Carol LaRocque, Dandelion Project Director, Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center. “It is a distinct honor to work with such amazing organizations committed to youth in and out of foster care. Their leadership increases the scale and visibility of youth service year-round, and helps youth in America play a lead role in learning about community needs, while giving their time, energy, commitment, and idealism,” said Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of Youth Service America. “Millions of young people serving together on Global Youth Service Day performing strategic service sends a powerful message of hope and healing around the globe,” Culbertson added. For more information about local events or to get involved, please contact: Carol LaRocque, Dandelion Project Director, Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center. 303-302-9919. www.rockymountainchildrens;awcenter.org. E-mail: dandelion@law.du.edu The mission of the Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center is to protect children and promote healthy families. Our major goals are to ensure that every child is safe from abuse and neglect, lives in a permanent home, receives individual and sensitive interventions, and has zealous advocacy to enforce these rights. Bridging the Gap at Mile High United Way seeks to insure that youth aging out of foster care will have increased opportunities for successful transition to self-sufficiency. Bridging the Gap serves youth ages 14 –23 who are currently in state public child welfare foster care system, are transitioning out of foster care, or were in or formerly in the public child welfare foster care system. A program of Youth Service America, Global Youth Service is the largest youth service event in the world. Global Youth Service Day is a year-round effort to expand the impact of the youth service movement. The initiative launches new service organizations, policy changes, and sustainable service programs to create a culture of engaged youth. State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor. More than 120 national partners and 75 lead agencies throughout the United States organize campaigns. Overseas, national lead agencies in more than 100 countries participate. Youth Service America is a nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries and is committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, Youth Service America’s mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments.  Check out our new initiative, Semester of Service that launches on Martin Luther King Day and concludes on Global Youth Service Day in April. For more information: www.YSA.org. Contact:    Carol LaRocque                     Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center        303-302-9919                        dandelion@law.du.edu
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