AURORA | The Community College of Aurora has received a $100,000 grant from the Aspen Institute Forum to expand efforts that reconnect young people who are not in school or working with education and career opportunities.
The two-year award will fund programs designed to help “opportunity youth,” ages 16 to 24, who face barriers to education and employment. The proposal calls for strengthening partnerships among CCA, Colorado Youth for a Change, and the Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative.
“This grant allows us to deepen our work with partners who are equally committed to ensuring that every young person has the opportunity to thrive,” Clair Collins, CCA’s vice president of enrollment success and completion said in a statement. “Together, we’re building more than just programs, we’re building pathways that lead to long-term success.”
Under the grant, CCA and its partners will provide individualized coaching, mentoring, workforce development, and transition services to help young people get back into school or career training. The effort aims to solve barriers such as financial hardship, lack of access to resources, or systemic inequities that often keep youth disconnected from opportunity.
The Aspen Forum supports similar work in communities across the country.
“We are excited to continue supporting the impactful work happening in Aurora and the broader Denver region,” Geneva Wiki, a senior associate at the Aspen Forum said in a statement. The project is “a powerful example of how communities can come together to remove barriers and co-create opportunity with young people at the center.”
The Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative focuses on improving outcomes for more than 45,000 young people in the metro area who are disconnected from school or employment.
CCA President Mordecai Brownlee said the grant represents more than just financial support. It’s an investment in the region’s future.
“As a community of educators, we collectively see the promise in every young person,” Brownlee said in a statement. “This grant represents an investment not only in their education but in their futures—and in the future of our communities.”
CCA serves students across Aurora, Centennial, and Denver and is recognized as the most diverse college in Colorado. The school offers instruction at three campuses, online, and through concurrent enrollment programs that allow high school students to earn college credit.
For the partners involved, the new funding offers a chance to make measurable progress in closing opportunity gaps and building systems that help all young people succeed.
“This work is about making sure every young person — no matter their background — has a fair shot at a stable, fulfilling life,” Collins said. “That’s what this partnership is all about.”
This is great, but what CCA can do with this grant for people is even greater. I was Director of Grants Mgmt. at San Jacinto College (SJC) when we received this grant. We used it to build a robust “check-in” procedure, where we called students on the edge of dropping out to help them stay engaged. We also used part of this money to start to build a pathways strategy, where career counselors mentored students closely on career options, matching class schedules with career pathways and eliminating wasted time and money for students. Today SJC was voted on of the top 5 Community Colleges in the nation for 6 years running by the Aspen Institute. This year they are being considered for the top prize of $1 million. ACC has a tremendous opportunity to really help their students!