The DAA Collective newsletter keeps Denver's afterschool community connected to resources, professional learning and networking opportunities. Learn more about us.
2024 Afterschool Professional Award Nominations Are OPEN!
The Denver Afterschool Alliance's Afterschool Professional Awards Ceremony is back for 2024!!
We will spend this years Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week (April 22nd-26th) acknowledging and highlighting the power and impact of OST providers, culminating with an awards ceremony where selected individuals and organizations in the Denver Metro Area will be acknowledged by city and community leaders. We invite you to honor a peer, supervisor, yourself and/or your organization with a nomination in the following six award categories that align with DAA’s values of Equity and Inclusivity; Quality; Collaboration; Driven by Data and Creativity. A committee comprised of DAA staff, DAA Sustainability Coalition members and DAA Collective members will work together to select award recipients.
Organizational Quality Future OST Leader Creativity and Innovation Equity and Inclusivity Youth and Community Collaborator OST Champion
Please click on the form below for a more detailed description of the award categories and to submit a nomination! Nominations are due by 5pm on Friday, March 1st! Not sure if the person (or you) fits a specific category? NOMINATE! If you have someone in mind that you want to honor, celebrate and appreciate: submit a nomination. If the person is not selected for the “award,” they will still receive notification of the nomination and that makes a HUGE impact. Let people know you see them and appreciate them!
We kicked off our 2024 Coffee and Conversations with a great turn out at Central Park Recreation Center, where folks representing 19 different organizations came together to talk about elevating and incorporating youth voice! We changed the format up a bit in January and featured a panel of individuals from youth-serving organizations. To help facilitate and drive the larger conversation, panelists addressed questions about how they are infusing youth voice into their programming, the challenges they face, strategies they use and more! Thank you to the following individuals for being vulnerable and sharing your knowledge on our panel:
And a special shout out to our OCA colleague, Felicia Rodriguez, for being on hand to offer her perspective on the topic as the Youth Violence Prevention Program Manager.
For a more in-depth look at the January conversation (including lots of great resources), please visit the Coffee and Conversation page on the DAAlearn website HERE.
And mark your calendars! On Thursday, February 22nd, we invite you all to "Caffeinate and Conversate" with the Office of Children's Affairs' new Executive Director, Dwight Jones! Come learn, listen and share the needs of your communities, the impact your organization is having, so we can continue to shape and align OCA's vision to the Mayor's priorities.
Out-of-School Time Community, please let youth in your programs know about the FREE after-school meal program!
The Office of Children’s Affairs warmly welcomes all youth aged 5 to 18 to receive a nutritious after-school supper and/or snack at various Tasty Food sites across the city. No ID or registration required – just come on over and enjoy!
To find a Tasty Food site near you, please visit HERE
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Comunidad de tiempo fuera de la escuela, ¡infórmeles a los jóvenes en sus programas sobre el programa de comidas GRATUITAS después de la escuela!
La Oficina de Asuntos Infantiles da la bienvenida a todos los jóvenes de 5 a 18 años para que reciban una cena y/o un refrigerio nutritivo después de la escuela en varios sitios de Tasty Food en toda la ciudad. No se requiere identificación ni registro, ¡solo ven y disfruta!
Para encontrar un sitio de Tasty Food cerca de usted, visite AQUÍ
Esta institución es un proveedor de igualdad de oportunidades.
Have Your Voice Heard!
Space is limited, so please RSVP to Kelly Streck if you would like to attend!
Applications for Denver Digs Trees 2024 Are Now Open!
For over 40 years, the Denver Digs Trees program has provided more than 60,000 gorgeous free and low-cost trees to Denver residents, helping to enhance quality of life in our city. ALL Denver residents, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and schools are eligible to apply.
For more information about eligibility guidelines and to apply, click HERE.
Application deadline is February 15. Tree pick up & planting is Saturday, April 20.
Upcoming Workshop Series: Taking Action to Dismantle Racist Systems
Families are already looking for Summer Programming! Make sure your organization is showing up on the Youth Program Locator, and that your current and future programs for 2024 are listed! Please reach out to our DAAconnect Team if you have any questions or need help updating your organizations profile: daaconnect@denvergov.org.
Apple’s Swift Student Challenge is a global competition for students to showcase their creativity and coding skills by creating an app playground using the Swift programming language.
Challenge winners will receive one year of membership in the Apple Developer Program, a voucher to take an App Development with Swift certification exam, and a special gift from Apple! And new to this years challenge, out of the 350 Challenge winners, 50 Distinguished Winners will be recognized for their exceptional work with an invitation to Apple in Cupertino! Applications will open on February 5, 2024, for three weeks. Click HERE for more information!
The CSU Extension 4-H Youth Development Program is offering a spring break day camp in Denver from March 25th-29th! The camp, Perfectly Imperfect, teaches youth (7th grade- 10th grade aged) about color, texture, shape and design while creating art! For more information, check out the program flyer HERE.
Servicios de la Raza is offering an 8-week, culturally based, family strengthening community mobilization program called Cara y Corazón. This program is offered to equip parents and other extended family with tools and tips on raising and teaching their children with a positive bicultural base. They will meet every Thursday from 6pm-8pm starting April 4th through May 23rd. Check out the program flyer, HERE.
To sign up, click HERE.
If you have any questions regarding Cara y Corazon, please contact Jose Palacios
With a strong focus on justice, racial equity and inclusion, the Youth Cohort of the Piton Fellowship is a paid summer fellowship aiming predominately to support aspiring social changemakers of color ages 14-20.
Fellows will conduct actionable research to inform community outcomes, learn from local experts, grow as leaders and connect with a diverse network of their peers. Applications and nominations for the 2024 Youth Cohort are being accepted now through March 1st!
The Access Opportunity application is now open! Please encourage your students to applyfor this six-year college and career preparation program + $10,000 scholarship if they are:
In the 10th grade at a high school in the Denver/Boulder area
Involved with their community through school activities and/or work
A dedicated student with an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or above (this is not a strict requirement – other indicators of academic success are welcomed!)
In need of extra support and guidance for the college/career process
Ready to be a part of a tight-knit community of like-minded students
Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has released the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Cohort 11 grant application as well as the new Colorado Academic Accelerator Program (CO-AAP) grant applications!
Both grant programs seek to establish or expand community learning centers that will accelerate student learning by providing academic support and enrichment as well as family engagement activities in Out-of-School Time programs. CDE will award approximately $3 million in 21st CCLC funding and approximately $8 million in CO-AAP funding. Applicants to both grants may apply for up to $180,000 per center per year. The grant applications are online using CDE’s new grant management system, GAINS. More details on content, audience, and registration can be found on the GAINS Training webpage. To learn more about the grant programs, technical assistance opportunities and tools and resources for applying, visit the 21st CCLC webpageand the CO-AAP webpage.
Applications for both opportunities are due on Thursday, February 15, 2024!
Emotional Intelligence Corner: Enhancing Your Emotional Literacy
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness.” Victor Frankl
How can we intentionally work on being smarter with our feelings? We all have them. This is the practice of emotional intelligence. Many of you have probably seen a version of the “Emotions Wheel” at some point…some have lots of emotions listed while others stick with the basic. The non-profit 6 Seconds has an interactive version of Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions, offers an option to download it, and provides an interpretation guide on how to use the wheel so we can practice accurately and identify and understand the feelings we experience throughout the day. Enhancing your emotional literacy provides critical information about you (and about others), which gives you insight into the core drivers of behavior. This understanding is also key to managing your reactions. (https://www.6seconds.org/2023/07/13/enhance-emotional-literacy/). Your feelings are a source of data…let them work for you!
Below is a practice activity from the 6 Seconds FREE Practicing EQ e-book which can be downloaded by request on their website. We invite you to use the interactive feelings wheel and practice simply identifying your emotions using the body-mind-heart scan outlined below. Share this with your staff and young people in your programs so we can all practice enhancing our emotional literacy…one feeling at a time!
