Greater Denver CARES is part of a national network recognized as a leader in the recruitment, training and engagement of Black mentors. Our programs address the severe shortfall of Black mentors and we are sought after by organizations that look to us for desperately needed and committed volunteers.

The CARES National Network operates in 58 U.S. cities, recruiting caring volunteers and connecting them to where they are urgently needed: schools, local youth-serving organizations, detention centers and reentry programs in severely under-resourced communities disrupted by poverty, and violence.

Greater Denver CARES offers The Rising Program, our signature initiative, designed to prepare children in high-poverty families to succeed in school and life. The pioneering, community-mobilization movement, created by subject-matter experts, aims to propel Black children from impoverishment to independence.

The overall goal of The Rising is to transform the lives of young people by encircling them with caring adults who are trained to deliver a transformational healing curriculum that challenges and affirms, encourages and inspires. The curriculum is rooted in prevention and teaches principles, practices and other support efforts that provide coping and other mechanisms needed to mitigate the impact of the disparities and dysfunction ruining young lives. Integral to the program is the cultivation of cultural pride and high self-esteem, the development of critical-thinking and literacy skills, workforce development and soft “power” skills, and a love for learning and high achievement among our young who are losing social, emotional and academic ground. In addition to working directly with students, the program works to indirectly change the landscape of the schools they are embedded in, by improving the overall school culture and relationships between students and the staff of the school.