If you hear the rhythm of African drumming at a CRI event, it is, no doubt, the sound of a Djembe under the masterful hands of Bob Hall. Bob has been a presenter with Community Resources for over 20 years. Whether it be teaching the patterns of rhythm to students at an Art Day or performing at a Multicultural Family Night, Bob enthusiastically and expertly brings the story and beauty of African drumming to all.

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Students have missed out on so many wonderful opportunities throughout the COVID 19 pandemic, but one bright spot over this time period has been the continuation of Community Resources’ Academic Mentors Project. Now, more than ever, students are benefiting from connections with like minded adults who are sharing their careers and passions, and are inspiring students to follow their dreams. During National Mentoring Month we celebrate these wonderful volunteers who are creating engaging learning experiences (virtually and in-person) for our DPS students.

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CRI is excited and grateful to be the first-place winner of New York Life Foundation’s Better With Books award. This award is in recognition of CRI’s continuing work with students and families in support of their literacy development. Our Family Reading Nights always end with each student selecting a free new book and then enjoying some shared reading time with their parents. Of course, the book then goes home with the student!

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What to do when you want to bring families to a school event, but you can’t all be inside the school? You create an outdoor Family Fall Festival!

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Thanks to the support of Assistance League Denver (ALD), CRI created a wonderful Art Experience Day at Munroe Elementary on September 30th. Everywhere you looked, The Arts were happening at the school. From 4th graders learning to weave, to 1st graders creating autumn leaf pictures inspired by an Emily Bronte poem, to 2nd graders learning rhythms from around the world, and much more, it was a wonderfully rich day.

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As Community Resources Inc. moves into the 2021-22 school year, the word uncertainty could certainly be used to define the current situation. Will students be “in school”? Will we be able to bring live presenters to schools? Will presenters be willing and able to share their knowledge and enthusiasm? Will volunteers be allowed in the schools? Are funders willing to support our efforts?

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Where to begin?? It has been quite a year…for the world…for our schools…for our children…for Community Resources, Inc. As you can imagine, the pandemic had a significant effect on the programming that CRI typically provides for the students and families of Denver Public Schools. You can’t do Classroom Speakers programs when there are no kids in the classrooms…or can you??

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“THE KIDS NEED THIS” was the cry of the members of the Arts for Kids committee of the Assistance League of Denver (ALD). For many years, ALD, in partnership with Community Resources, Inc. (CRI), has provided wonderfully rich Art Days for elementary and K-8 schools in Denver and Aurora Public Schools (DPS and APS). These Art Days bring 20+ live artisans into the schools to introduce students to the exciting and varied world of “The Arts”.

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Even though Earth Day is celebrated in April, Community Resources, Inc. (CRI) helps to bring environmental education into schools all year through our wonderful partnership with Wendy Dew and the Environmental Outreach and Education Program at the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 (EPA). With the onset of Covid-19-related school closures, the EPA quickly pivoted to virtual presentations and were one of the first to offer live virtual presentations back in April 2020. The EPA offers programs to teachers and students on a variety of environmental topics that can be tailored to any age group. Popular topics include: food waste, Earth Day, recycling, air quality, energy, climate change, environmental justice, and water quality. They can also create presentations to match other environmental/conservation topics to fit specific curriculum.

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From African and Taiko drumming to Opera and the Music of Zimbabwe, Community Resources, Inc. loves to fill school buildings with music through the Classroom Speaker Program, Family Art and Multicultural Nights, and Art and Multicultural Days.

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Community Resources, Inc. is all about partnerships…connecting resources in our community with the students in Denver Public Schools. One of the most wonderful resources in our community is the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA).

DCPA and its educators are can-do kind of people. Allison, David, and the team of teaching artists always find a way to make their programs available for students and schools, especially in low-income, impacted neighborhoods in Denver. Their joyously artistic participation can be seen throughout CRI program areas.

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Pete Modreski is a man who definitely knows a lot about rocks! Having earned his PhD in geochemistry at Penn State, he had a long career as a geochemist and Public Outreach and Education Director for the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver. During his 41-year career, which is remarkable enough, he also eagerly shared his love for and knowledge of geology with the youth (and adults) in our community.

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CRI has been blessed with hundreds of wonderful volunteers during our 49 years of service to the students, staff and families of Denver Public Schools. But never have we had such a powerful team as the Cookson Clan.

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To say that this has been a year filled with change is nothing short of an understatement. As we face the known and the unknown, the challenges are daunting. Yet I believe that arising from this will be new opportunities, new platforms, and new programs that will bring engaging learning opportunities to the children of Denver.

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