Background of Colorado Uplift Students

- "Growing up in the ghetto, dreams are limited. The mentality is that we are not good enough to succeed, so we rebel."

- "I started off living in a house with 14 people and 4 bedrooms. We moved house to house and my brothers always got us kicked out by having parties almost everyday. They ended up having a drug bust."

- "I move from house to house about every three or four weeks because my parents and relatives aren't able to take care of me all the time. When I was a kid my aunt was stabbed and killed upstairs while I was downstairs in the basement. Sometimes my brother and I would get really hungry because my mom would forget to feed us while she was doing drugs."

- "At the age of 5 my parents got divorced because my dad was unfaithful to my mom and a lazy man. My brother and I slept on the floor. I didn't think much of myself. I thought I was a mistake and was not important."

- "When I was four months my dad left, so my mom had to raise 5 kids on her own. When I turned 5 my mom would always hit me when she had problems with her boyfriends. She would be worse when she was drunk. Most of the time, she would leave me by myself while she went out to dance. I learned how to cook since the age of 5. Most nights I got dinner all alone. When I was 10 my mom got married. Three months after they were married her husband got stabbed in front of our house by some little gangster kids."

- "I got shot in my hand in 2000 because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The first time I got drunk was in 6th grade. Two of my friends are in jail for stealing a car. The first time I got high was 14."

- "I am the first in my family's history to be born in the United States. One of my homes was actually a garage. We had to pay to live in that garage. I had guns pointed at me almost was initiated to a gang. I lived in an apartment no larger than my classroom. We shared it with the six in my family and two others. My father only went to the second grade and my mother didn't' get past middle school."

History of Colorado UpLift (our model program)

Colorado UpLift was founded in 1982 as a jobs program with a vision to place minority high school students in summer jobs. Although 1,400 young people were employed by over 200 companies, it became clear that Colorado UpLift was reaching them too late. Educational under-achievement and negative work attitudes were tragic realities already blocking their long-term success.

In an effort to make a bigger impact, Colorado UpLift expanded its vision with a plan to reach students at a younger age, building in those qualities necessary to become successful in life. Utilizing the top high school students from the job placement program to teach 4th and 5th graders, mentoring relationships were built and UpLift now had a new plan to help students become healthy, productive citizens.

Colorado UpLift's goal is to help at-risk students lead successful lives. Through long-term relationships and programs emphasizing character, education and attitude, Colorado UpLift is igniting the spirit of urban youths one student at a time.

Our journey now leads us to 2010 where we are currently impacting over 3,500 lives in nineteen Denver Public Schools. The reason for our success: longevity and continuity. We don't give up on kids. Ever.