How Alpha Learning Academy students are giving their Pueblo peers 'HOPE'
Ten students from Pueblo’s HOPE at Alpha Learning Academy have raised over $21,000 to address some of their community’s most pressing and complex issues.
The students formed this year’s Pueblo Youth Action Council and embarked on a nine-month journey that involved the creation of a needs assessment, execution of an elaborate fundraising campaign and the distribution of funds through a grantmaking process.
HOPE at Alpha Learning Academy is a learning center for middle and high school students, serving as a partner of the statewide HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-Op charter school. The Alpha Learning Academy is located in the Midtown Shopping Center at 1025 W. 6th Street.
The Pueblo Youth Action Council is an annual program conducted through a partnership between the Packard Fund for Pueblo and Youth Roots organizations. Local high school students learn about leadership, philanthropy and grantmaking through the program.
“This is the first year that they chose Alpha Learning Academy to represent them — not just to look at what the needs are in the community, but to create funds to develop an interest of their own,” said Joey Williams, a HOPE School Social Worker and Pueblo Youth Action Council facilitator.
Alpha Learning Academy students that participated in the Pueblo Youth Action Council included Marisol Perez-Arias, Joseph Solano, Micah Trujillo, Katie VanDeGrift, Curtis Caldwell, Dylan Casey, Luis Perez-Arias, Emma Torres, Adriano Duran and Rickki-Jo Sanchez.
After interviewing community experts and conducting research for the needs assessment, Alpha Learning Academy students chose the issues they would most like to address as the Pueblo Youth Action Council: teen mental health, youth homelessness and poverty.
Once needs were identified, students hosted fundraisers at the Alpha Learning Center, Panda Express and Pizza Ranch. They also asked for funds by writing and presenting pitches to potential community sponsors.
Alpha Learning Academy students started their work as the Pueblo Youth Action Council in September 2023 and had raised over $21,000 by the end of March. After completing fundraising, students began the process of selecting recipient organizations.
“It’s not something that the students took lightly,” Williams said. “They really did their research and they really wanted to give it to organizations that would use it to meet the needs of the teen population here in Pueblo specific to mental health, poverty and homelessness.”
Organizations selected to receive funds from the Pueblo Youth Action Council include the Boys & Girls Clubs of Pueblo County, Posada of Pueblo, Pueblo Cooperative Care Center, Servicios de la Raza and Spark the Change Colorado. Funds will be distributed at a private ceremony in May.
Participation in the Pueblo Youth Action Council program has left a lasting impact on Alpha Learning Academy students. Each of them feel empowered to act as leaders in their school, as well as their community, Williams said.
“They are just so happy, not just to be a part of the process, but to actually create change and see other teenagers benefit… These students are excited to give a voice and empower other youth,” she said.
While Williams served as a facilitator for the Pueblo Youth Action Council, Gina Ferguson Lopez of the Caring for Colorado Foundation provided additional assistance with the project. The program was fully funded by the Packard Fund for Pueblo, a program of the Caring for Colorado Foundation’s Centennial Fund.
HOPE celebrates nearly two decades of educating Colorado youth
The HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-op was founded in 2004 and began operating as a public charter school the following year.
HOPE is part of the Douglas County School District, but has held a presence in Pueblo County’s education landscape for most of the Co-op’s existence. HOPE’s original Pueblo campus was in the Cornerstone Assembly of God church building on St. Clair Avenue.
Objectives of the HOPE Online Learning Academy Co-op and its current Pueblo location at the Alpha Learning Academy include preparing middle school students for high school, high school school students for college and empowering all students to become community leaders.
“We know if kids can be engaged and passionate, they will succeed,” said Heather O’Mara, HOPE founder and CEO. “They will be successful in school and also as future leaders. That’s our mission.”
Pueblo students who may not feel at home in a traditional school setting are given the opportunity to thrive at Alpha Learning Academy. They form strong relationships with the academy’s mentors, teachers and their fellow students.
Classes, breakfast and lunch for Alpha’s middle and high school students are free. Along with core academic courses, students have access to art, critical thinking and physical education courses.
Middle and high school students may participate in Colorado State University Pueblo’s TRiO program and Pueblo School District 60 sports programs while enrolled at Alpha Learning Academy. Concurrent enrollment is also an option through CSU Pueblo or Pueblo Community College.
Additionally, Alpha Learning Academy high school students may participate in the Science Foundation Discovery Center’s Junior Space Entrepreneur Program.
More information about Alpha Learning Academy can be found at hopeonline.org or at facebook.com/hopelearning.org.
