Youth Wellness Program for Refugees and Immigrants

by Village Exchange Center

Project Report | Oct 30, 2020
Still Going Strong in Aurora, CO!

By Austin Lazek | Youth Programs Manager

The Village Exchange Center Village Youth Club is back in action this fall after being shut down by the pandemic last spring. Not without challenges, the program has been getting back on its feet with recent additions to the team: Austin Lazek (our new Youth Program Manager) and Alex Rios Muñoz (Program Assistant). Our team fosters student safety by checking temperatures, ensuring students wear masks and stay socially distant, and updating students on best health practices.

In the midst of lingering shutdowns, Austin has worked to partner with neighboring organizations, including Stanley Marketplace, where students will learn theater arts and musical performance basics; the City of Aurora Parks and Open Spaces, where students participate in urban farming, nature hikes, and outings; and the Christian Family Community Martial Arts (CFCMA), which will teach Tae Kwon Do. Early next year shows promise as well. Our kids will learn hands-on about equestrian care, how to ride a horse, and farm operations (livestock, gardening, etc.) at The Urban Farm, a new partnership.

VEC Youth Club also focuses on academic support and mentoring. Students from the surrounding neighborhood in northwest Aurora attend this program Monday through Thursday afternoons from 3-6pm. Each afternoon we spend some of our time together offering academic support in reading and provide tutoring as well. We hope this fills in the gaps in online learning. Students attend local schools, includin Crawford Elementary, Aurora West College Preparatory Academy, or Aurora Central and have been adjusting to online learning and a remote in-person hybrid school model this term. It's been a challenging time, but VEC continues to provide its neighborhood youth a fun, safe place to go each day. Here, they receive a snack, run around, and learn something new from mentors and coaches. Perhaps most importantly during this time of tremendous isolation and stress, our youth form part of a community of peers that are supportive and engaged with each other.

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Jul 6, 2020
Underserved Youth in the Time of COVID 19

By Amanda Blaurock | Executive Director and Co-Founder

Intergenerational Farming

This has been an unprescedented time for all of us and in addition to the disproportionate impact of COVID 19 on underserved populations, the youth may be the least equipped to handle the isolation and ramifications of this pandemic.

At Village Exchange Center we recognize these inequities and have decided to launch the VIllage Farms at Stanley Marketplace and our Village Summer Camps. This is a wellness social enterprise that will serve VEC’s mission by bridging community silos between the various socioeconomic communities in Northwest Aurora and Northeast Denver. We do this through growing food, cooking, eating, and celebrating our diversity of cultural, culinary, and agricultural practices.

We believe food has the power to transcend all cultural, linguistic, and socio-economic differences and bring us together. This project stems directly from the community-identified need to create economic opportunities in the agricultural field while also providing food access.

In just two months we have built out 16, fifty foot farm beds and a pumpkin patch and Monday are launching our Village Summer Camps. This camp will run for 4 weeks throughout July and is an effort to create equity for our youth by providing free access to the camps in a COVID 19 conscious outdoor environment. We provide extensive farming and sports programs and free lunch from 9am to 2pm.

Please consider sponsoring this intergenerational social enterprise and our youth through the following opportunities:

Community Gardens Sponsorship

- Raised Beds ($7,000 each) – branding rights on the North and South sides of the beds (50 ft long).
- Modular training and event facilities ($30,000)
- Hydroponic farming containers ($65,000 each)
Summer Camp Program Sponsorship
- Sponsor an APS ACTION Zone Camper ($350/week)
- Program materials for educational activities and camper safety (contact us for a complete wish list)
Vocational Apprenticeship Sponsorship
- Employment opportunities in agriculture or culinary industry for apprentices
- 1 month of training for a farmer apprentice ($1000)

Thank you for following this project and being an important part of our community!

Guardian Fox Living on our Farm

Links:

http://www.villageexchangecenter.org

Attachments:

Village Summer Camp (PDF)

3 Attachments

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Mar 9, 2020
Village Youth Club

By Chinelo Tyler | Program Manager

The Village Youth Club got off to a great start in 2020!

Program Manager, Chinelo Tyler has been working with the Village Youth Club's youth and volunteers to create an exciting fall program. We have been operating under the theme of "It takes a village". We recognize the importance of community and how that positively impacts the everyday lives of children. Our efforts have been centered around providing resources for academic assistance, leadership training/design thinking, developing skills, emotional support, and having FUN!

The youth continue to meet on Monday through Thursdays from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM.In this report VEC would like to highlight 3 events in particular.

The first is our Holiday Bike Giveaway. Students at the center were gifted bikes by the Village Exchange Center for their academic achievements and participation in Village Youth Club programming. This was made possible through a partnership with Shorter Community A.M.E. Church. The bikes are currently being utilized by the students for transportation, as well as, health and wellness programming.

In addition, VEC is excited to share that recently students have completed programming with the Tri-County Health Department. Students engaged in a presentation centered around food access. They came up with ideas and long term solutions for food disparities that exist in the surrounding community.

Finally, our students are currently engaged in a design thinking program with the Denver Art Museum. In an effort to make the youth portion of their museum more inclusive of activities children would enjoy and find innovative, Denver Art Museum has been meeting with the Village Youth Club for the past few months at least once a month. The students have designed possible programming and art projects for the Denver Art Museum to implement.

-Village Youth Club

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