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Valentin concert to benefit FutureSelf
FutureSelf's target population consists of low-income and/or underserved
youth living in foster care, safe-houses, residential treatment centers,
enrolled in community and employment programs; who are defendants through the
Municipal court, are referred by caseworkers at the Department of Human
Services, CASA workers, their counselors, schools, or are self-referred.
FutureSelf serves approximately 250 youth multiple times per year. Due to the
intensive nature of FutureSelf's programming, this results in over 6,000 contact
hours for students annually. The age of participants ranges from 12 to 19 and
consists of approximately 60% girls and 40% boys. Geographically, FutureSelf
serves all of El Paso County in the state of Colorado and has, on average, a
population of 25% Hispanic, 30% African-American, 1% Asian-American and 44%
Caucasian participation.
The Community Prep School, a Charter school in District 11 serving high-risk
youth, credits student involvement in FutureSelf’s ArtWorx! program with raising
school CSAP scores. A young man in his senior year at the School of Visual Art
in NYC credits FutureSelf with making this education possible. Another young man
says he would have dropped out of school without FutureSelf, and another
long-term participant says that her participation has made taking risks and
learning from mistakes a practice she now takes into every area of her life,
that she learned at FutureSelf. This young lady, Chela Espinoza, grew up in
severe poverty; she and her sister both went through the program. Her sister is
now a medical technician in the Air Force, and Chela is a freshman at Pikes Peak
Community College.
Next year FutureSelf will be partnering with Pikes Peak Community Foundation
on a project with the youth of Ivywyld neighborhood. The youth, who represent a
highly Hispanic demographic, will be creating a photo and video documentary of
Fountain Creek, which runs through their neighborhood.
Grammy Award Winner Dave Valentin returns to Colorado
Springs on January 27, 2007
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