DUS Partners: Save Our Youth

The Denver Urban Semester is a collaborative effort. We are incredibly thankful for the internship sites, teachers, and various individuals who help us do what we do. One of our internship sites is Save Our Youth (SOY). It is a youth mentoring program that has been changing the lives of young people all around the Denver metro area since 1994.

Save Our Youth has a one-on-one mentorship model that is noteworthy and powerful. Mentors commit to at least a year of mentoring, however most mentors have been mentoring their mentee for a lot longer than that. The national average for mentoring is 9 months compared to SOY which has a 42-month average. Mentors walk through life with these young people; through the ups and the downs. The consistency of the mentors is something very significant. Unfortunately, many of the youth in our city do not expect someone to relentlessly love them. Even when they fail a test or run away from home, their mentors remain a consistent presence in their life. Youth find their true value and see their strengths when someone is walking through life with them. SOY understands the power of the relentless love of our God and communicates that to youth through various avenues.

One of those avenues is the Summer Academies that SOY hosts all around the city. This summer they hosted ten different academies in partnership with local churches. From Littleton to Aurora, they have staff and interns dedicated to developing students around three foundational pillars: educational, emotional and spiritual growth. According to SOY Education Specialist, Keith McVaney, the summer academies give kids “a safe place.” It is a safe place to grow in academics, explore emotions, and discover an authentic relationship with the living God.

This summer two DUS students had the privilege of doing their internships at Save Our Youth. James, a student at Northwestern College, described his role this summer as, “working alongside them as they worked to complete assignments, as well as to play games and build relationships.” This safe place allowed the students to build meaningful relationships. Miles, also student at Northwestern, stated, “The people I study in school are numbers or people of a certain group. This summer gave me a face and a story for understanding the people.” Internships give students real life experience that extends beyond their textbooks.