Greetings Readers, Welcome to the Weekly Word Edition 2. This past week interns had the pleasure of attending the annual 2-day NPIP retreat. As a result, the editorial staff decided to publish the newsletter later than anticipated; rest assured the remainder of the newsletters will be released every other Friday. To hear more on the retreat, stay tuned for our next issue! Please feel free to send us your reflections, thoughts, and musings on the retreat so we can be sure to capture the full experience. Additionally, if there are events, upcoming informal gatherings, fun updates from your non-profits that you would like to see included in Weekly Word, please send it our way!
Christopher White Regis University
Chris was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He currently attends Regis University: doublemajoring in Peace and Justice Studies and Business Administration with a minor in Urban Agriculture. He hopes his educational and life experience will help him impact at-risk youth in disadvantaged communities. In his free time Chris enjoys participating in hockey, playing guitar, and reading. His favorite book, “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” by John Perkins, depicts John Perkins’ career in economic forecasting and the complex damage it causes internationally. Chris is spending his summer at EarthLinks Inc., a nonprofit devoted to helping the homeless through workshop programs. These programs provide participants a source of work creating sustainable products or working in a garden. Chris illustrates his spirit animal as a miniature donkey because of their love for people, resilient nature in multiple environments, and their deep intellect. Chris shared with the editorial staff a couple fun facts about himself. The first is he has been cliff diving in the Dominican Republic; the second is his written ethnography on Colorado alligator wrestling.
Alejandra Hernandez Colorado College
Alejandra was born and raised in Denver. She is the oldest of four daughters and the first in her family to attend college. She just finished her first year at Colorado College as a Bridge Scholar, where she will be majoring in Feminist and Gender Studies on a Pre-med track. Aside from academics, Alejandra is a cabinet member within SOMOS and an active member in Cool Science and Salsa Club. She is passionate about working with her community and particularly enjoys working with her local church, St. Dominic Catholic Parish of Denver. In the future, she hopes to pursue a career in medicine specializing in pediatrics. This summer she is interning at The Denver Foundation with the Strengthening Neighborhoods Program. This program makes grants and supports Metro Denver resident activities and leadership. It focuses on the power of neighborhood residents to make a difference in their communities. Through this internship she hopes to learn more about community organization and build strong relationships with community leaders and members. In her spare time, Alejandra loves reading. Her favorite author is Gabriel Garcia Marquez and her favorite book is “One Hundred Years of Solitude.� She also enjoys spending time with her friends and family. If she had to pick, her spirit animal would be a giraffe. One last fun fact about Alejandra is that she loves to dance to Latin music, especially salsa, bachata, and cumbia. If you want to learn more about her just ask!
Misha White Arizona State University
Misha currently attends Arizona State University for Nonprofit Leadership and Management. She is presently contemplating a certificate in Conflict and Religion as well as a minor in Arabic. Misha’s extracurricular activities include founding a new program called Critical Connections and working as a mentor for Daniels Fund Scholars attending Arizona schools. In the future she hopes to run a refugee camp, obtain a graduate degree, and eventually lead her own nonprofit organization. In her free time Misha loves to draw with oil pastels, read, and dance. Misha’s favorite book is Stay with Me by Garret Freymann and details one woman's journey through grief, family, career, and relationships. Misha depicts her spirit animal as an elephant because they form long lasting relationships, have an intense capacity for compassion, love to play, and rarely forget. Misha works as the Operations intern at The Denver Foundation and takes immense joy in collaboration, policy research, and learning about big picture goals. So far her experience has yielded a deep understanding of the valuable interplay between policy creation and cultural shifts. She cannot wait to learn more!
Learning Workshop II
The second NonProfit Program Learning Workshop was an amazing opportunity for the interns to engage with the Original Aurora Community, hear stories from leaders of the Denver area, and to further solidify a lasting leadership bond.
Recap! The day began at DAVA with presentations by The Denver Foundation’s own, David Portillo and Mario Flores, along with Mike Green on the value of community engagement. They thoughtfully illustrated methods of resident engagement. Sharing the intrinsic value of communicating with residents based on the communities needs and voice. With the guiding principles presented by David Portillo, Mario Flores, and Mike Green, the interns ventured into the community to connect with Aurora residents utilizing the new skill-set they were taught.
Transformational Leaders
Included in the day, the interns had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Brenda J. Allen of the University of Colorado Denver, who presented an amazing component focused on transformational leadership. The interns learned about the elements of a successful transformational leader: idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration. The interns walked away from the day excited to reflect on their continuing growth as they shift into their own leadership identities.
Site Visits
Ashanti, her supervisor Carla Mestas, and NPIP committee members went on their first intern site visits! The interns visited had the opportunity to present about their host organization along with their specific roles and responsibilities. Miguel Garcia, spends his workdays at GrowHaus. This visit was particularly amazing because they were able to interact with Miguel in his daily work life and learn about the extensive programs at Growhaus. One such fun fact they learned was the difference between aquaponics and hydroponics garden systems. Be sure to ask Miguel for more information! The party did not stop there, they continued on to EarthLinks to visit Christopher White. EarthLinks offers individuals who have experienced homelessness or currently are homeless, the opportunity to create eco-friendly products and crops. This visit provided the group the unique opportunity to speak with community members a part of the program. The last visit of the day was with Elise Flores at Hope Center. Hope Center is a Colorado Nonprofit, that serves children and adults who have special needs in the Clayton/Cole neighborhood. The group particularly enjoyed visiting the classrooms to observe student-teacher interactions. The site visits were quite a success and the group was pleased to learn so much and see the ways in which our fabulous interns are participating. Please stay tuned for more site visit reflections in the upcoming newsletters.
On July 17th, the GrowHaus will host an overnight lock-in for children in the community. This is a high energy event with many fun activities, and they are looking for volunteers to sign up. The event starts at 3:30pm and goes until 9:00am the following morning. For more details please contact Miguel Garcia at 720-854-9054 or via email at miguel.jara.garcia@gmail.com.
On July 18th, the Hope Center will be having their 2015 Community Carnival from 11-4pm. Volunteers are needed throughout the day for morning set-up, carnival events, and end of the day clean up. Additionally, if you have friends or family who are able to join the fun, please have them contact Elise or Cherrelyn at 303-388-4801 or at sehope1@comcast.net. They will be happy to sign them up!
These are both great volunteer opportunities and we hope that many of you are able to attend. You don’t have to do them alone, invite a friend, family member, or fellow interns to volunteer with you!
Upcoming Events
NPIP Learning Workshop #3 July 9, 2015 9:00am-3:00pm The Denver Foundation 55 Madison, 8th Floor Denver, CO 80206
2015 Networking Event July 16, 2015 5:30pm-7:30pm Museo de las Américas
861 Santa Fe Dr. Denver, CO 80204