• The Colorado " I Have A Dream" Foundation Celebrating 30 Years!

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  • Supporting Dreamers from kindergarten through college

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Educate. Empower. Achieve.

At The Colorado "I Have a Dream"® Foundation (CIHAD), we provide individualized social, emotional, and academic support to young people from under-resourced communities from kindergarten all the way through college. We believe that when given equal access to the resources they need to succeed, all children can ignite their innate potential and achieve their dreams. Since The Colorado "I Have A Dream" was founded in 1988, we have served 1,160 young people ("Dreamers") across Metro Denver for a 10+ year program cycle.

The Numbers

3x

Dreamers are over
 3x more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree 
than their low-income peers.

90%

90% of Dreamers 
graduate High School,
 compared to 74% of 
low-income students 
nationally.

$1M

College graduates 
earn, on average, 
an additional $1 Million 
in lifetime earnings.

Our Individualized Support

CIHAD Dreamers

"Last year, I was in the movie club during afterschool! I actually know how to make a movie! Just Wow"

- Edwardo, Fifth Grade Denver

"I love coming to afterschool, it makes my whole day better."

- Aniyah, Second Grade Denver

"Me and my twin are currently Sophomores at Knox College in Illinois. The scholarship money has helped us tremendously."

- Veronica, Sophomore College, Denver

"The CIHAD program helped me to reach my goal of attending college."

- Yared, Sophomore at University of Denver, Denver

  • “Over a decade ago, Judy and I “adopted” a group of kids living at a Denver Housing Authority project through CIHAD. Now, we can look back and can proudly say that the Dreamer program helped virtually all of these young people graduate from high school and allowed most to continue their education at post-secondary or vocational schools."

    Richard Weill, Weill Class of 2018

  • "Being a Dreamer means that I have a chance to choose my future rather then my background and ethnicity choosing it for me."

    Chasel, Records-Rainaldi of 2018

  • “Helping to sponsor Ruby Hill is a great fit for the Rotary Club of Denver Southeast because it is an opportunity to provide both financial and hands-on support. This allows us to involve a lot of our members. In addition, with a five-year commitment, we will be able to watch the children grow up and benefit from our efforts.”

    Doug Andrews, Denver Southeast Rotary Club

  • When we adopted a class, we didn’t anticipate how much the experience would enrich our lives. It was a privilege to play a role in supporting the Dreamers as they navigated the challenges of their school years. We were so excited to see the young adults that the Dreamers have become when they graduated from the program last year. We owe much of their success to our dedicated CIHAD Program Coordinator Dusty Teng.

    Martha Records and Richard Rainaldi, Records-Rainaldi Class of 2018