Have you had a chance to check out my article in our most recent newsletter, or the recent coverage on KKCO News?

Our Western Slope youth are rocking it!

A program that aims to increase both youth participation and civic engagement in our organization has taken off. And now, we’re struggling to keep up!

We can’t let our high school students down, and have set a goal to raise $5,200 by the end of August to support their work. Help us hit our mark and keep this program strong through November! 

Here’s what we’re up to
In June, we brought on a summer intern to develop a youth program that would tap into the growing desire we sensed among students to get involved. What we didn’t anticipate was just how ready these young adults were to act! Just two months into the program, we’ve assembled a team of 20 student volunteers, now known as our Grassroots Democracy interns, and the group is still growing. They’ve already begun putting their plan into action, and school hasn’t even started yet! And although the Western Slope Youth Voter Initiative is a program of Western Colorado Alliance and supported by our staff, the work is being developed, directed, and carried out by local students.

Throughout the school year, our Grassroots Democracy interns will be giving classroom presentations as well as tabling at their schools and at community events to register their peers to vote.

As a non-profit organization, the goal of this work will never be to register students in order to persuade them to vote for a specific candidate or party. In fact, our interns represent many political affiliations and values. Rather, these young people view themselves as the future decision makers of western Colorado and our country. They want to encourage their peers to view voting as a right and a responsibility, always, and get involved now. Here at Western Colorado Alliance, we view this program as not just an investment in our students, but also the future of our democracy.

But these students need your help. While they’re working hard to make this program successful, we need to provide them financial support for the training and materials they need to do it right.

Please consider making a donation to this program today, to support our local students and help make this program a lasting success. Thanks!