Family Makes First Round of Grants from The Arapahoe High School Community Fund in Honor of Claire Davis
Denver, Colorado (PRWEB) December 12, 2014 -- As the one-year anniversary of the untimely and tragic death of Arapahoe High School senior Claire Davis approaches, her family plans to acknowledge her memory with acts of generosity, made possible through gifts from thousands of community members in Claire's memory. The 17-year-old was critically injured by another Arapahoe High School student on December 13th, and passed away on December 21st, 2013.
Michael and Desiree Davis started the Arapahoe High School Community Fund honoring their daughter Claire Davis, and have worked with The Denver Foundation to identify outstanding groups doing work within local schools to promote the values that the family holds dear and that Claire embodied. They also had extensive meetings with Littleton Public School officials, principals, and others to discuss ways that new programming might be implemented in LPS. They were determined that the funds contributed in Claire’s honor support work that brings out the best in humankind through mindfulness and compassion—specifically, efforts to prevent bullying and foster positive mental health in our schools, and initiatives which support the victims of bullying directly.
“We were incredibly touched to see the outpouring of support that Claire’s tragic death has generated among our community here in Colorado, and beyond.” Michael Davis said.
Two organizations working in Colorado public schools and beyond rose to the top as outstanding examples for fostering compassion and mindfulness among our young people, and helping teachers and administrators create positive and healthy school environments. Both organizations have met with principals and administrators within Littleton Public Schools directly to talk to them about the programming opportunities they might provide. They are:
The Anti-Defamation League’s No Place for Hate® Program – Developed to organize schools to work together and develop projects that enhance the appreciation of diversity and foster harmony amongst diverse groups.
PassageWorks - Supports educators with practices and principles that integrate social, emotional, and academic learning and create meaningful and rigorous relationship-based classrooms.
The Davis family has also decided to support organizations that work with populations that are often the victims of bullying. To that end, grants were awarded to Dirt Coffee, a Colorado-based social enterprise that works with autistic youth on job training and social development; and Smile for a Lifetime, which provides free orthodontic care to disadvantaged youth to build self-confidence and hope for kids.
Lastly, the fund is supporting some of the final expenses for Clarity Commons, the beautiful memorial park constructed at Arapahoe High School in collaboration with Littleton Adventist Hospital. Clarity Commons received tremendous in-kind support from the community and opened on August 16th this year, the day that would have been Claire’s 18th birthday. The space was designed to provide a place for quiet reflection and is a lasting tribute to Claire’s memory.
“From the beginning, the Davis Family has demonstrated to the world what compassion, forgiveness, and hope in the face of unspeakable tragedy can look like,” said David Miller, President of The Denver Foundation. “We are honored to stand alongside them and to partner with them to steward this aspect of Claire’s legacy.”
About The Denver Foundation
The Denver Foundation is a community foundation that inspires people and mobilizes resources to improve life in Metro Denver. In 2013, the Foundation and its donors awarded more than $50 million in grants. The Denver Foundation has three roles: stewarding an endowment to meet current and future needs for Metro Denver, working with community leaders to address the core challenges that face the community, and managing more than 1,000 charitable funds on behalf of individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit http://www.denverfoundation.org.
Angelle Fouther, The Denver Foundation, http://www.denverfoundation.org, +1 (303) 996-6490, [email protected]
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