Funding to help youth build back skills after COVID

August 30, 2021, Grand Junction, CO – Eighteen nonprofit organizations received a total of $110,000 in grants from the Western Colorado Community Foundation for projects that help youth regain skills and build resilience after more than a year of isolation and loss due to COVID. Projects range from after-school programming to behavioral and mental health support, to combining extracurricular activities with tutoring and academic skills to recover focus and study habits.

Notes Barb Chamberlin, WCCF grants selection committee chair, “These grants will support nonprofits across our region in helping our students recover and rebuild skills lost during the past year of disruption and isolation due to the pandemic. Our communities are seeing such a high need for these kinds of programs and WCCF was pleased to have the amount of funding to respond, thanks to our generous donors.” See below for a full list of funded projects.

  • Access AfterSchool – Accelerate After-School Program
  • All American Families – Explore and Engage Delta County
  • Andy Zanca Youth Empowerment Program – Classroom & Broadcast: Mental Health is Important to Me
  • Black Canyon Boys & Girls Club – Behavioral Health Curriculum for After- School Program
  • EUREKA! McConnell Science Museum – Gear Up! Mountain Biking and Science After School
  • Family Resource Center of the Roaring Fork Schools – Family and Youth Resilience
  • FocusedKids – FocusedKids for Rifle classrooms
  • Haven House of Montrose, Inc – Child Development program for homeless families
  • Hilltop Community Resources, Inc. – Youth and Family Connections
  • HopeWest – HopeWest Kids – EMDR Therapy
  • Mesa County Valley School District 51 – Elementary School Pilot: Regulation Station
  • Mesa Youth Services, Inc – Behavioral Health Support for Diversion Youth
  • Ouray Public Library – Learning Loss Recovery and Resilience Building
  • Riverside Educational Center – After-School Tutoring and Enrichment
  • Stepping Stones of the Roaring Fork Valley – Experiential Education to Build Resilience
  • The Buddy Program – Scholarships for Outdoor Leadership Programs
  • Voyager Youth Program – Peer Mentors for Youth Mental Health and Resiliency
  • YouthZone – Youth and Family Support

The Western Colorado Community Foundation serves seven counties in western Colorado, managing charitable funds for community good. Currently, the Community Foundation manages over 300 charitable funds totaling $100 million in assets and awards nearly $5 million in grants and scholarships annually.