Denver Indian Family Resources Center | Culturally Appropriate Crafts
The Denver Indian Family Resources Center (DIFRC) used its grant funding to purchase culturally appropriate crafts for caseworkers to use when meeting with American Indian and Alaska Native children in the Denver urban area who may be victims of abuse and/or neglect or receiving therapeutic services. These materials can be used for creating culturally appropriate crafts like dream catchers and journey sticks, beading and weaving to help reduce the impact of traumatic events and increase cultural connectedness.
“The DIFRC is so excited and grateful for the generous gift from the Get Grounded Foundation to support culturally appropriate activities for American Indian and Alaska Native youth. We plan on using funding to provide children and their families with opportunities for growth in traditional cultural skills and knowledge, particularly for children who are currently in out-of-home placement as we support reunification with their families through supervised visitation, intensive case management and therapy. Beading, drum making and regalia crafting will be incorporated throughout the therapeutic and case management processes to provide children with comfortable and inherent activities that have been ingrained in their culture for centuries. We can’t wait to provide families with these opportunities in the coming months.” – Sarah M. Nelson, LSW, MSW, MPH (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Project Supervisor
PlatteForum | Denver Soil Bank
PlatteForum, a nonprofit organization supporting contemporary artists and underserved youth in metro Denver, used its grant to support its artist-in-residence program, specifically its residency with artist and environmental researcher Jennifer Stratton. Youth from Cole Middle School Boys & Girls Club joined Stratton for a series of interactive learning workshops and to create the first ever Denver Soil Bank, an evolving collection and exchange of community soils and stories. The program culminated in the completion of a body of work by Stratton and the children that was on exhibit to the public at PlatteForum during the month of October.
“This project has challenged Denver’s urban youth to think about their relationship to the ground beneath their feet…and engage the larger community in creating the first Denver Soil Bank. They have literally been grounded through your support.” – Alexandria Jimenez, Program Director
Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center | The Birthday Bash
The Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center (RMCLC) grant is being used to fund its new “Birthday Bash” program, which allows guardians ad litem and members of the RMCLC clinical team to participate with children in celebrating important events and rites of passage. RMCLC staff and volunteers use these opportunities to help underserved, poverty-level youth participate in fun activities as forums for learning life skills and developing a sense of self-efficacy. RMCLC was founded in 1985 to transform the lives of abused, neglected and at-risk children through compassionate legal advocacy, education and public policy reform in response to the critical lack of quality legal representation for these children in Colorado.
“The Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center (RMCLC) is thrilled to be the recipient of a gift from the Get Grounded Foundation, which will help us to launch a new program designed to provide special celebrations and activities for abused and neglected youth. Children who are in the foster care system often miss out on important activities and rituals that all children look forward to with great anticipation such as birthdays, holidays, or even just being able to go to a baseball game. This generous gift provides the guardians ad litem or other members of the RMCLC staff and volunteers the resources to utilize these experiences as a forum for teaching life skills and helping kids develop a sense of self-efficacy (e.g., learning how to use public transportation), as well as give them an opportunity to experience something truly joyful that they may not have had a chance to do otherwise. This is an exciting opportunity, and we are beyond grateful for the generosity of groups like the Get Grounded Foundation who recognize the importance of a child just being a child.” – Tera Prim, (Former) Director of Development
Tennyson Center for Children | Animal-Assisted Therapy Program
The Tennyson Center for Children (TCC) is a nonprofit organization that provides residential and therapeutic services, as well as a K-12 school, to Colorado children who have survived severe abuse or neglect, or have significant mental health or developmental issues. Through this grant, they were able to launch a new program, providing children who have experienced trauma with animal-assisted therapy (AAT). Children often view animals as non-judgmental and are better able to share and disclose painful feelings during AAT, which then makes it possible for the therapist to address the child’s issues.