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Summer 2020 Newsletter
Volume 2
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Welcome to the periodic newsletter for the Barton Institute for Community Action and Lifespan Local! You can read more about who we are and our history here.
Since many readers are new to us, here’s a quick overview before you dive in: The story about our new strategic plan will provide context – we focus on safe community spaces where people have an opportunity to thrive.
The Barton Institute provides the backbone administrative support for Lifespan Local, which works deeply in partnership with residents in Southwest Denver. The Barton Institute also works with organizations creating safe spaces for people experiencing homelessness, such as tiny home villages or safe parking areas. And we’re still working closely with the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab, a program created during our time at the University of Denver.
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Lifespan Local Launches Back-to-School Supplies Drive
Our Goal: Raise $30,000 to fill nine hundred backpacks with school supplies for students in Southwest Denver.
Over the past few weeks, Lifespan Local has been hearing from many families that they are feeling stressed about getting their children the supplies they need for this new school year. Back-to-school should be an exciting time for children as they return to class and a new year of creativity.
With Denver Public Schools starting the year online, this August is a little different, but we still think it should feel special. Lifespan decided to help, and in turn, we are asking for your support for 900 superstar Southwest Denver children and teenagers. To inspire you, we made a little video to share what school supplies meant to Lifespan Local team members growing up, and what we hope they will mean for these students.
In the video above, Lydia Prado, Executive Director of Lifespan Local, shares what inspired the school supply drive, and what school supplies meant to her growing up. If you click 'Learn More' you’ll also see another video with the rest of the Lifespan Local team members sharing their back-to-school memories.
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Barton Institute Launches 2020 Strategic Plan
The Barton Institute Board recently approved a strategic plan focusing its work on safe community spaces and helping to increase access to and opportunity for wealth, health, and mental health in the communities where we work. The plan builds on our deep partnership with Lifespan Local as they seek to work with Southwest Denver residents to improve life in that community.
The plan emphasizes “how” the
Barton Institute does its work, driven by our relationships with community members and drawing strength from multiple sectors. “We listen to people at the center of issues and draw in resources to help ideas flourish.” The plan also acknowledges that we seek to help build models that could be adapted and adopted more broadly.
"This plan builds on our existing partnerships, focuses our resources, and sets the framework for how we’ll choose our path forward in the coming years,” says founding donor Laura Barton. “There is so much work to be done as our neighbors face unprecedented economic uncertainty.”
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We'd love to hear your feedback. If you have questions or comments on our strategic plan, please drop us a note at: connect@bartoninstitute.org
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A Focus on Spaces
and Opportunities
“Since the creation of the Barton Institute, we’ve been looking for ways to partner with local community members who are working to improve their lives,” says David Miller, CEO of the Barton Institute.
“A focus on space and opportunity allows us to do just that, building on our deep partnership with Lifespan Local. This is especially important as our communities deal with a worldwide pandemic.”
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Feeding Community in the Time of COVID-19
After spending years getting to know the needs, strengths, and dreams of the people in Southwest Denver, Lifespan Local was gearing up for a campaign of community-driven change. Lifespan hired 3 new employees, fired up and motivated their partners and community leaders, and then….COVID hit. The newly expanded team was all too aware that the Southwest Denver communities would be hit harder than most by the effects of the pandemic. Grocery store shelves were bare, and people needed food. Time to pivot.
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Maternal Mental Health
Last year, Lifespan Local began work on the Southwest Denver Collaboration for Maternal, Family and Infant Mental Health planning grant, generously provided by the Caring for Colorado Foundation. The group met twice a month to bring together community expertise and academic expertise to co-design a peer-delivered care program that will support moms/caregivers and little ones (ages 0-3 years old) in ways that are meaningful and helpful, and will promote responsive, warm relationships.
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Left Behind Workers Fund
In order to help support all our community members during this challenging time, Lifespan Local has teamed up with Impact Charitable to help distribute $1,000 cash assistance through the Left Behind Workers Fund. In partnership with our local community organizations, we have identified over 350 eligible people who do not qualify for assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and distributed more than $350,000 to help people cover their rent, food, medical bills, and other urgent and pressing needs.
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Barton Institute Becomes Fiscal Sponsor for The Village Institute |
The Barton Institute is thrilled to announce that we have become the fiscal sponsor for The Village Institute. Launched by 2018/19 Social Enterprise Fellow Ellie Adelman, this remarkable organization is a live/learn/work center for single-mother refugee families, aligned perfectly with the Barton Institute’s new strategic focus on safe community spaces.
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Colorado Lab Focuses on Early Childhood Education Workforce
The Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab recently released a study that examined the early childhood care and education workforce in Colorado. The report was funded by the Piton Foundation and the Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation to meet the escalating need for actionable information among policy- and decision-makers who seek to provide for the well-being of our youngest children. The study is augmented by an online interactive dashboard that allows users to find information in their own communities.
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Second Tiny Home Village
Breaks Ground
The Colorado Village Collaborative (CVC) has begun work on Denver’s second tiny-home village, the Women’s Village at Clara Brown Commons. Recognizing the growth ahead for CVC, the Barton Institute has offered $100,000 to match gifts from other funders in support of the organization’s staffing and infrastructure.
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Social Enterprise Fellows: It's A Wrap
ICYMI, the Barton Institute is celebrating its three-year program: the CiviCO Social Enterprise Fellowship, in partnership with the University of Denver and Colorado leadership program CiviCO.
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