DENVER (July 11, 2008) - Summer is in full swing and so is Mi Casa Resource Center's Youth Farmer's Market for our 2nd season! We will be open every Tuesday during the summer from noon to 2 p.m. in the East Parking Lot of Lake Middle School at 18th and King Streets in northwest Denver. The Mi Casa Farmer's Market has healthy vegetables at a very affordable cost!
Mi Casa's youth programming is based out of Lake Middle School, which is part of the Denver Public School System. For the past 10 years, Mi Casa's Youth Development Program has offered year-round tutoring, technology, recreation, arts, health and leadership training that supports inner-city youth at Lake Middle School to improve their academic success in order to help advance their future economic self-sufficiency, develop positive skills, and reduce violence in their communities. A research-based national wellness program called CASASTART helps youth live healthier lives and prevents substance use and abuse. In 2007 the program served 344 youth.
Mi Casa specifically targets youth in the Denver community who are at a high risk for school suspension or dropout. At Lake Middle School, the student population is 89% Latino. Ninety-five percent of the students meet federal poverty standards and qualify for federal free or reduced lunch. Twenty-one percent of the students are learning English as a second language.
The good news is that Mi Casa's youth programming is assisting these young people. Last year Lake Middle School teachers reported that 70% of after school students performed better in school as a result of the Mi Casa youth programming. The families of 70 students increased their involvement in their child's education.
"We are very proud of our student participants' commitment to their education and how they make the most of the programming Mi Casa is offering at Lake Middle School," said
Ginger Alferos, Youth Development Manager at Mi Casa. "One young man just returned from an extended trip with his family to Vietnam and the very next day he was back to re-engage in our program's activities and continue to build his self-confidence and leadership skills."
To learn more about the Mi Casa Farmer's Market and the youth programs, please email Laura Gabbay at
lgabbay@micasaresourcecenter.org or call her at 303-539-5609.
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About Mi Casa Resource Center
The mission of Mi Casa Resource Center is to advance the self-sufficiency of primarily low-income Latinas and youth. Mi Casa was founded in 1976 by eight Head Start mothers in Denver. These women understood that education and employment were vital for women to become successful on both a personal and economic level. As a result, Mi Casa was established to create these opportunities for adults and youth to become successful. For more than 30 years, Mi Casa has been committed to advancing the self-sufficiency of primarily low-income Latinas and youth in the Colorado community.