Aspire Scholarships - ColoradoGives.org

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MISSION

We award college scholarships to aspiring young students facing homelessness and adversity.

VISION

Our students are empowered to achieve their goals and positively contribute to society through investment in their post high school education.

Aspiring students facing adversity need a hand up, not a hand out. Aspire Scholarships is a springboard to post high school education for students facing insurmountable obstacles. Our scholarships go beyond tuition, fees, and books by assisting with the cost of food, housing, transportation and technology. We partner with businesses and community organizations to remove barriers and create new possibilities for these young people.

Since its founding, the organization has awarded over $800,000 in scholarships to nearly 300 students facing homelessness and adversity in Denver Metro area communities.

HOW ASPIRE SCHOLARSHIPS WORKS

1. We partner with high schools to identify and refer promising students to our program. Although these students initially find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, post high school education is their path to self-sufficiency and success.

2. Students apply for an Aspire scholarship and tell us their stories. Volunteers assist Aspire with a thoughtful online review process that scores applicants based upon financial need, academic record, and demonstrated resilience.

3. Once awarded, Aspire supports these students until they graduate. Throughout the course of their education, Aspire engages with them on a regular basis and offers personal and professional development opportunities.

OUR BEGINNING

Zoe lost her parents at the age of 14 in a tragic murder-suicide. Following this loss, she dropped out of high school and spent many years in the child welfare system where she moved more than ten times and rarely had a stable place to call home. 

Her story inspired the founding of Hide In Plain Sight, now called Aspire Scholarships. Thanks to the assistance she received, Zoe graduated Summa Cum Laude from Metropolitan State University in 2019 and went on to study at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. and the California Polytechnic Institute.

Aspire Scholarships partners closely with school districts to identify promising students like Zoe and offer them assistance. 

OUR PARTNER

The Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) is a primary partner to Aspire Scholarships. Since 2019, our donors have matched three grants totaling $110,000. These grants doubled our scholarship fund and allowed us to award $220,000 during that time. Help us match our next grant request which will be at least $100,000 and double your impact as a donor!