High-quality pre-kindergarten programs, whether serving all 3- and 4-year-olds or targeted to disadvantaged populations of both age groups, begin to pay for themselves in no more than nine years in Colorado. (Enriching Children, Enriching the Nation, Robert Lynch, 2007)

Mile High United Way partners with metro Denver’s best early childhood learning centers.  Donate your time, talent or treasure to Mile High United Way’s School Readiness initiative and help prepare children from low-income familiesfor success when they enter school. 

Between the day children are born and the day they go to kindergarten, there are at least 1,825 days in which their brains are soaking up information. What they learn in those days will directly affect what they can achieve every other day of their lives. (Smart Start Colorado)

Want to be part of a lasting solution in metro Denver that will help all children enter school ready to learn?  Donate your time, talent or treasure to Mile High United Way’s School Readiness initiative and help prepare children from low-income families for success when they enter school. 

In November of 2006, voters approved a landmark program to fund the Denver Preschool Program (DPP).  DPP provides tuition credits, based on a sliding income scale, for parents to use at participating preschools.  The voluntary program is open for all Denver children in their last year of preschool before kindergarten.

The groundbreaking program makes early childhood education a reality for many children whose parents would otherwise not be able to afford any preschool.

Currently, 3,800 children who live in the City and County of Denver are enrolled for next fall with 42 different providers participating, including Denver Public Schools.  Each provider is encouraged to meet high quality  standards based on the expertise of staff, materials available to the children, the scope of the curriculum and the physical site of the preschool. 

DPP will address the startling statistic that 59 percent of children in metro Denver region under the age of five are not enrolled in a formal pre-kindergarten setting.  DPP is expected to have 6,500 children enrolled by the fifth year of the program.

“Support for DPP has been overwhelming from Governor Ritter, Lieutenant Governor Barbara O’Brien, Mayor John Hickenlooper and the metro Denver foundation community.  We are proud to support this program through our School Readiness initiative,” said Diana Romero Campbell, Director of School Readiness for Mile High United Way.

Pre-kindergarten is paramount in the success of a child – 80 percent of brain development occurs before the age of five.  Local and national research shows that young children who participate in high-quality early care and education programs not only do better when they begin school, they continue to succeed throughout their school years.

Studies show that children enrolled in a preschool program are:

• More likely to own a home
• Earn $5,000 more a year than those who do not attend
• More likely to graduate from high school
• Less likely to be arrested or incarcerated
• Lead healthier lifestyles  

Click here to donate to Mile High United Way’s School Readiness initiative and help grow early childhood education in metro Denver.

National studies of classroom quality and school readiness demonstrate that young children who participate in high quality early childhood education programs start out doing better in pre-reading, pre-writing and pre-math, and continue doing so through elementary school. (Barnett & Masse, 2007; Brooks-Gunn, 2003)

Want to be part of a lasting solution in metro Denver that will help all children enter school ready to learn?  Donate your time, talent or treasure to Mile High United Way’s School Readiness initiative and help prepare children from low-income families for success when they enter school. 

By Alicia Jiron 

The date, April 15th, often brings about stress for many Americans across the country.  Mile High United Way works to bring an easy tax-preparation solution to many folks in our community.

Each year for the last four years, Mile High United Way’s 2-1-1 program has partnered with the 2-1-1 Colorado Collaborative and The Piton Foundation to share information about tax credits for working families, and direct these same families to sites to have their taxes prepared at no cost.

By dialing 2-1-1, a free call, community members can learn if they qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a Federal tax credit for qualifying taxpayers.  Trained Call Center Specialists will guide a client through the qualifying factors, and refer them to a nearby Voluntary Income Tax Assistance (VITA) site.  Tax preparers at the VITA sites will complete a simple individual tax return for families that earn less than $40,000 per year.

Last year, Mile High United Way’s 2-1-1 assisted 2,617 families with information about EITC and locations of VITA sites in their area. The EITC brought 450 million Federal dollars into the state of Colorado.