Park Hill Partnership Approved for a $100k Colorado COVID Relief Fund Grant

Families of Hallett Academy and Stedman Elementary will receive emergency help to alleviate the negative impacts of the pandemic.

Through a collaborative application of the Denver Metro Community Impact network, led by the community, in partnership with Hallett Academy and Stedman Elementary, that includes over 40 active organizational partners working to ensure that children in the Park Hill have every opportunity to thrive.

Hallett Academy

Denver Metro Community Impact (Park Hill Collective Impact, Inc) was recently awarded $100,000 of grant funding by the Colorado COVID Relief Fund to help respond to equity in education in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Denver Metro Community Impact’s mission is to advance equity and generational success by elevating the voices of the systemically oppressed, through the facilitation of organizational collective action, led and constructed by the community. Our mission has been deeply hindered by the consequences of the pandemic, leaving low-income families of color with school-aged children facing even greater challenges than before, specifically around limited access to food, transportation, housing, and technology for the remote access to education.

Stedman Elementary

At Denver Metro Community Impact, we are seeing firsthand the urgent need to address inequities in the community surrounding education, we will serve as a connector and resource guide to vulnerable families to ensure the greatest opportunity for their children to thrive in these uncertain times. With the funds, we will be able to directly impact our families with school-aged children by paying food, transportation, childcare (personel and space), and technological needs. We will also be able to hire community navigators/leaders/parents to continually communicate and monitor these needs throughout the remainder of the school year.

Led by an executive committee in coordination with the Governor’s Office, the Colorado COVID Relief Fund was developed to raise and coordinate allocation of funds based on COVID-19 prevention, impact and recovery needs of community-based organizations in Colorado. The Fund is organized to ensure that the most acute community needs across the state are being addressed and that community voice is reflected in all funding decisions made over time.

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About Denver Metro Community Impact

Mission

We advance equity and generational success by elevating the voices of the systemically oppressed, through the facilitation of organizational collective action, led and constructed by the community.

Vision

Equitable Denver Communities Where Children are Thriving, Not Just Surviving.

Denver Metro Community Impact (DMCI) is being built in real time by and for the community. DMCI serves as the facilitator and connector for a growing network of partners to meet the needs of families in Denver. The network is bound together by passionate work on the Social Determinants of Health, recognizing that systemic change will come from efforts in improving life in our homes, schools, workplaces, neighborhood, and communities. The success of the DMCI Network is dependent upon organizations and individuals working together differently.

What We Do

As a convener and facilitator of community and an organizational network, Denver Metro Community Impact (DMCI) represents a medium to an understanding between neighborhood interests, the world of philanthropy, government, and any other entity seeking to work for and with the community. We hold an impactful position in mobilizing the funding of philanthropy directly to the needs of the community, by fortifying the voice with data, while making a business case for investment.

DMCI puts community voice first. Our workflow has been developed from the best practices of the Collective Impact Framework, but also the best practices of community organizing. Starting with the community voice in mind, we seek leaders from within that have a knack for building relationships, listening to stories, and advocating for their neighbors. Through these leaders, we discover shared interests, issues impacting equity, and the desire for action and change. After identifying this, we start the Collective Impact work by fortifying the community’s voice with data, continuing communication with the leaders, and inviting appropriate organizational partners to brainstorm collaborative action, while seeking continuous community feedback along the way. As a result, advocacy, solutions, and change are delivered to the community, by the community and our partners.