History of Denver Kids, Inc.

   Founded on September 1, 1993, Denver Kids, Inc. is a fairly new organization, but operates with over seventy-five years of collective history. Denver Kids, Inc. is the merged entity of Denver Boys, Inc. (DBI), founded in 1946, and Denver Girls, Inc. (DGI), founded in 1970.

   DBI was started in response to the number of young boys who had necessarily, following World War II, become overnight heads of households, and juvenile delinquency became a national problem. DBI was organized to enable these young men to gain employment, but at the same time, complete their educations. The original founders, the Rotary Club of Denver and Denver Public Schools, have provided sponsorship since 1946.

   In 1966, a group of concerned citizens approached the Denver Public Schools with the request that a program be established for young girls who were in need of counseling and companionship. It was a well-established fact by this time, that boys were not the only group in need of help, but that statistically, young girls were following many of the same patterns. The group of citizens had in mind a program for girls such as the schools already had in operation in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Denver - Denver Boys, Inc. The Junior League of Denver and the Zonta Club of Denver agreed, along with the Denver Public Schools, to lend financial and volunteer support as the sponsoring organizations. In 1974, the Junior League of Denver, as was their policy, turned over their sponsorship to the Rotary Club of Denver.

   Both programs, DBI and DGI have provided long-term counseling, on a one-to-one basis, to thousands of youngsters over the years. The missions of the two organizations have adapted as society demanded, and as the needs of youth became greater and more severe.

   The idea to merge Denver Boys, Inc. and Denver Girls, Inc. came about as a decision of the governing Boards of the two organizations. The recognition that resources in the Denver community are scarce, due to the large number of not-for-profit organizations, and the awareness of the similarity of the two organizations, made the merger very practical. As of September 1, 1993, the offices were combined, and the new name, Denver Kids, Inc., was adopted and accepted.

   The adopted mission of Denver Kids, Inc. is to help students in Denver Public Schools (DPS), who face the personal challenges of higher-risk environments, complete high school and become useful, productive members of the community.

   Denver Kids, Inc. continues, as did the predecessor organizations, to provide preventive counseling to boys and girls, ages 5-18, who are students in Denver Public Schools. Each youngster is guided by a professional counselor and, as well, it is the goal of DKI to match each youngster with a volunteer Friend. Activities, special events, and educational programs are provided, throughout the year, for the Friends and youngsters. The professional counseling staff works closely with the school, family, and any social service agency who serves the youngster.

   Two additional programs of DKI are the Family Support Project (FSP) and the Teen Mother Education Project (TMEP). In its second year of formal operation, the FSP is designed to give DKI families the opportunity to learn to communicate within the family meaningfully and productively, and to encourage parent participation in every aspect of their children's lives. TMEP is an ongoing project of DKI. The project involves counseling and support for teen mothers (not DKI students) who have returned to school. Upon return to school, the TMEP counselor begins seeing the teen mom on a regular basis and provides her with encouragement and support she needs to help her overcome the obstacles she is facing due to her status as a teen parent. The counselor, with the support of the entire DKI organization, assists this very high-risk population by providing educational and social support which enables these young mothers to successfully complete high school. Of these young women, 88% graduated from high school in June 1996.

   Denver Kids, Inc. will continue to provide the time, attention, and caring that has often made the difference in the lives of each youngster. The ultimate goal will remain the same; to assure that each boy and girl successfully completes high school, and becomes a useful and productive citizen of the community.