August 2024 Newsletter
Mission Moment
A glimpse into what we do and why we do it.
Anthony at Broncos Training Day
“I’d love to share a story about Anthony, who is going into 3rd grade. He had such a wonderful day at the Denver Broncos Training Camp! He came dressed to impress in Broncos gear and prepared with a plan to get as many signatures as possible. He remained on the lookout all day to find cheerleaders, players, and the mascot. His plan was a massive success! He was able to get three football players, two cheerleaders, and the mascot to all sign his hat. He was so excited! He spent the day telling his teachers and Broncos staff that his dream is to grow up and to become the coach of the Broncos. He said that he wants to be the coach to use his skills of planning and organizing. He also taught us some techniques to throw the football further- he’s well on his way to becoming one of the best coaches in the league!”
CDF Youth at Broncos Training Day
“The youth had an incredible time at the Broncos training camp! They were so excited to meet players and chanted all together to get them to come sign autographs.”
- Bobby McGreal, Westwood Instructor
Thanks to the generosity of the Broncos Foundation and NFL, we were invited to attend a training day on August 9th and sit in the Community Corner. This is a special section of the field that is reserved for partner organizations and the players often stop by after practice to sign memorabilia and interact. Although Summer Camp was over, we still had over 50 youth, caregivers, and Dream Team members attend!
August Updates
2024 Impact Report Coming Soon
Josh Meyer, Sr. Grants & Development Manager
We are adding some final touches to our report but we will be ready to share it widely in the coming weeks. Of note, we supported 423 youth in 2024, up from 320 in 2023. And our demographics are significantly higher in our key areas than DPS, which we will be working to highlight in the final report. We will send out a blast with the 2024 Dream Impact Report when it is complete!
2025 North Stars
Kaye Taavialma, President & CEO
Four words will guide our goals and direction this year: relationships, retention, results, and revenue.
Relationships are at the heart of our work. Whether we’re talking about a youth in our program, a client at Beyond Dreams Therapy, a community partner, or a donor, each voice matters. Over the coming year we will be working to deepen and grow these relationships. If you know someone who we should reach out to, let us know!
Retention is an integral part of our secret-sauce to making more dreams come true. Our mission statement boldly states that we walk with the same group of youth and families. We commit to doing this. And, we are also committed to retaining our community partners and champions who make sure we can continue to provide quality services to the Denver area.
Results tell us that what we’re doing has an impact. It also tells us what we need to do better so we can reach more people. By bringing intention to measuring what matters (enrollment, attendance, youth voice, program quality) we get better at being exactly what our families need.
Revenue is a reality of the work we do. It is the fuel that keeps the mission moving forward. With a large federal grant sunsetting this September, our focus on revenue is more important than ever.
Tonya, Chair of the Outcomes & Strategy Committee, and I are meeting to finalize the alignment between our North Stars and the board scorecard for this year.
Preliminary Numbers
Taylor Vaughn & DaShawn Lewis - Site Leaders
Our Westwood Location is approaching the capacity of enrolled youth to start this school year and we are quite proud to report that over 90% of our enrollments are youth and families who have been with us before!
Z-Place has a handful of spots still available and they are actively engaging the Green Valley Ranch and Montbello communities in with outreach and tabling efforts.
New Dream Team Members
Kaye Taavialma, President & CEO
The summer was busy this year with a focus on hiring for several open positions. But, we are excited about our new Dream Team Members! They come to us with a wealth of experience and work in areas focused on supporting youth and communities we center. We are incredibly excited to have them with us and look forward seeing the impact they will have with our youth and families.
DaShawn Lewis most recently was at the Community Resource Center helping open a youth housing shelter.
Kyara Davis comes to us from Tennyson House and has a robust background in mental health work.
Hope Wallace found her way to us after working for KIPP Northeast as their Social Worker.
Daniel Wilde spent the past seven years working as an Education Director for the ADL and spent years prior in the classroom as a tech teacher.
From left to right: DaShawn Lewis (Site Leader, Z-Place), Kyara Davis (Assistant Site Leader, Z-Place), Hope Wallace (Assistant Site Leader, Westwood), Daniel Wilde (Director of Curriculum & Instruction).
