Denver Kids and BrainWise
 
 
Denver Kids is a jewel in Rotary’s community programs. Rotary Club of Denver helped found Denver Kids after World War II to help at-risk youth in third through 12th grade graduate from high school. The program currently employs 20 full time counselors as well as volunteer mentors.  Denver Club Rotarians continue to actively support Denver Kids through funding and volunteer activities.
 
 
Pat Gorman Barry, a members of Denver Mile High Rotary developed BrainWise, which is used in a number of Denver area schools to teach critical thinking skills to students.  Denver Kids administrators selected BrainWise as a curriculum that they could use for both their students and parents.  Denver Mile High Rotary partnered with Denver Kids to create a District Grant that would deliver BrainWise training to 29 counselors and administrators. 
Denver Mile High Rotarians Tom Cella and Diane Messamore collaborated on the grant to support the mission of Denver Kids.  They developed the grant and recruited support from Denver Rotary as well as Denver Southeast and Castle Pines Rotary Clubs. 
 
Two Rotarians assisted in the training, which was completed in early 2019.  While the immediate beneficiaries were the adults who were trained, ultimately the real winners are the Denver Kids who will be equipped with strong critical thinking skills.