Mentored Kids Succeed

Denver Foundation Featured in People Magazine

By Jenny Shank, 6-01-06

	The article in the June 5 People.

The director of The Challenge Foundation, the Denver non-profit group that I have been volunteering with for six years emailed everyone today to let us know about a major feature on the organization in the current issue of People Magazine. Unfortunately, the full article is not available online--that distinction is reserved for items on Brad and Angelina's baby, Paul McCartney's divorce, and weight loss tips. Last week, I wrote about my experiences as a mentor with The Challenge Foundation as I watched my mentee graduate from high school. The People article discusses The Challenge Foundation's very first college graduate, Latrice Lee, who recently completed her studies at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California.

As the article by Thomas Fields-Meyer and Vickie Bane details, Don McFall, a Denver businessman, first encountered Latrice when she was seven years old and participating in an after-school program for impoverished Denver kids that he and his cousin, Theresa Kinealy, started.

The article explains that "In 1999, after watching Lee grow into a well-spoken teen with a sharp wit, [McFall] launched the Challenge Foundation, which has helped pay for tuition, fees and tutoring for 73 other students to attend elite, private middle and high schools at a cost of $150,000 each. So far 20 kids have gone on to college without dropping out." That includes my mentee, who won a prestigious Daniels Fund scholarship that will foot the entire cost of her college education. Two other Challenge girls won the same scholarship this year, something they probably couldn't have done without the academic enrichment provided by the program.

The story of Latrice is typical of the kids that come through the Challenge Foundation--as the People article explains, Latrice was the fourth of five children of "a single mother living in Denver's tough Five Points neighborhood. Her father died of an aneurysm when Lee was just 2, and her mother struggled to hold down jobs." The parents of many of the Challenge Foundation's students are Mexican immigrants who would not otherwise be able to provide their children with a quality education. I've seen these kids thrive when given access to academic enrichment and experiences that impoverished children typically lack.

Let's hope that the People piece brings The Challenge Foundation plenty of volunteers and donations so that it can continue to provide its valuable services to Denver's children.

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