Colorado Young Leaders

CYL exists to empower the next generation of leaders; a young person with a clear passion and purpose, a heart for others and the confidence to make the world a better place. Your gift will fund mission-driven expenses & will help extend our vision to serve more Colorado youth.

Testimonials

"CYL helps bring students into the community to make a positive impact, about what they're passionate about. It builds leaders and leadership skills to help us youth be stronger leaders in the future. CYL has given me more opportunities to volunteer and network in my community. It has taught me how to actually be a leader…and a better one at that, I have made more friends, become more confident, and I've really been able to find my passions and pursue them. It's given me the outlet to get things accomplished, and I think that's mostly because CYL doesn't limit us. We say 'How high?' and the staff says, 'As high as you want'. They let us explore things and make our own mistakes." (Maddy Gawler, South HS)

"As a young person, it is hard to find your voice and use it in the most powerful way. CYL has given me the opportunity to use my voice. It encourages the idea that, yes, I may be a young person, but that does not rate me as less of a leader or less of a vessel of change. CYL has taught me about how to transfer my passion into change. Not only has CYL given the opportunity to expand my character as a leader and a young person, but it has made me more involved in my community and makes me feel valued as a person and leader. CYL means the world to me because it helps me see the world and become a apart of it." (Cece Cole, Freshman, GALS Denver)

"Youth are gifted with unique and considerable levels of passion. They are longing for opportunities to test themselves and start making their mark on the world. I believe in Colorado Young Leaders because it calls out that passion, validates it, and provides the structure and guidance for it to be unleashed in truly constructive ways. CYL leaders grow in confidence, expand their world views, and become powerfully creative members of their community. What is not to believe in?" (Kelley Birschbach, GoTell)

"I used to feel that to make a difference I had to give everything away. I wanted desperately to save the world in one big dramatic act. I put away every cent in hopes of pursuing an outreach adventure abroad. For me, need and purpose had to be grand --and certainly located further away and somewhere more exotic than Denver. When I found CYL, that perspective changed in a way that I never could've expected. It turned out that making a difference was the magical result of many efforts coming together wherever it was needed. I realized, that I didn't want to be a savior. I just wanted to be someone that did something." (Olivia Wischmeyer, East HS)