October Newsletter   Thank You for a Wonderful Garden Gathering We extend our sincere thanks to Rebecca Folsom for sharing her incredible musical talents and to Cynda Collins Arsenault for graciously hosting our Garden Gathering. Your generosity and support helped create a memorable afternoon celebrating Growing Up Boulder’s work uplifting youth voices. If you were unable to make a donation at the event, there’s still time to support our programs. You can contribute below. Donate Here   Kids Shape the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan For the past year, Growing Up Boulder has partnered with the City of Boulder to include children and youth in creating Boulder's vision for the future. Did you know that kids have been giving input to this plan since 2010 through Growing Up Boulder's partnership with the City? We're excited to see that these focus areas reflect kids' priorities: Multicultural, Multigenerational Community | Community members call for the project to explore ways to foster belonging, support health and wellness, strengthen social connections, increase accessibility and intentional planning for youth and older adults. Safety | Community members want to feel safe in public spaces and want enhanced bicycle and pedestrian safety and improved natural disaster resilience, protection and response planning. Would you or your kids still like to give your input? This questionnaire is open through Friday!  Take the questionnaire To learn more about what the City and County have heard so far, check out their website. Nature Everywhere Ripple Effect Mapping Workshop On Friday, 10/10, Growing Up Boulder joined the City of Boulder, local nonprofits, the Children & Nature Network/National League of Cities and KABOOM!, to participate in a Ripple Effect Mapping session of our collaborative Nature Everywhere work.  The goal of this interactive workshop was to document the impacts and elements of success resulting from our participation in the Cities Connecting Children to Nature (now Nature Everywhere) initiative.  Ripple Effect Mapping (REM) is a group qualitative evaluation method that produces a visual mind map to tell the story of a program or initiative.  This group overflowed with enthusiasm for the progress Boulder has made connecting children to nature over the past 10 years. Turn Your Donor-Advised Fund into Community Change Did you know you can use your Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) to support Growing Up Boulder’s work bringing children’s voices, creativity, and love of nature into our community? DAFs have become a popular and flexible way to give because they’re easy to manage and can provide tax advantages. A DAF is an investment account for charitable giving—when you contribute cash, securities, or other assets, you receive an immediate tax deduction and can later recommend grants to nonprofits like Growing Up Boulder. You can make one-time or recurring gifts through your DAF, supporting a single organization or several causes from one account. Check with your financial advisor, community foundation, or financial institution to see if a DAF is right for you. Giving to Growing Up Boulder through your DAF is simple: Contact your DAF administrator and recommend a grant to Colorado Nonprofit Development Center dba Growing Up Boulder, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 84-1493585). Then let us know so we can celebrate your gift and share how it’s helping nurture young minds, foster creativity, and inspire a love of nature across Boulder.   Thank you to Community Foundation Boulder County Thank you to Community Foundation Boulder County for supporting Growing Up Boulder through a Community Trust Grant. Your generosity helps us continue elevating youth voices and creating a more equitable community. A wonderful picnic season We are so grateful to all the children and caregivers who joined us to share their voices, laughter, and connection in the great outdoors. This season was filled with joyful moments of nature play, discovery, and creating community-responsive parks together. Your presence made each gathering truly special, and we can’t wait to share even more sunshine, community, and play next year. Join Growing Up Boulder this Sunday at Sawhill Ponds   News from our Partners   Raíces y Risas Celebration + Raíces Vivas Youth Program Kids Creating a Better Tomorrow Our Contact Information *{{Organization Name}}* *{{Organization Address}}* *{{Organization Phone}}* *{{Organization Website}}* You are being sent this email because you are a subscriber. If you wish to update your Email Preferences or Unsubscribe, click *{{Unsubscribe}}*