DENVER — For some families and avid athletes, participating in a turkey trot is a Thanksgiving tradition. The annual Mile High United Way Turkey Trot is also one of the biggest fundraisers for the nonprofit.
Back in 2020, Mile High United Way launched the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program to provide academic tools and support to families so their child is ready for kindergarten.
"We know something that is very important is that 90% of our little one's brain development happens during the early years. So that is one of the biggest things that we want to support," said Catalina Gonsales, senior manager at Mile High United Way.
Through the program, families are connected to an instructor who then visits during the week to go over the curriculum, talk over the lesson, and ensure parents are given the necessary supplies to teach their children. Last year, there were nearly 2,400 HIPPY home visits.
See what comes in a HIPPY learning pack in the video player below:
"During that home visit, there's the home visitor that is role-playing all the activities with mom or dad or both so they're able to go to do those activities with their little ones," Gonsales explained. "So what we are doing is we are supporting our parents, again, to become the first and most important teachers of their little ones."
Paloma Castrejon, a mother of two boys, wanted to home-school her sons to ensure they not only learned fundamental skills before heading to kindergarten but also understood Spanish.
"I was strictly on homeschooling and I was lost, so I didn't know where to start," she said.
Castrejon's mother heard about the HIPPY program and told her daughter to get in touch with Mile High United Way. Now, inside the family home, there is a mini-classroom with supplies from HIPPY to help Castrejon teach her boys.
"I think a lot of people just don't have the information, and some are like, 'Oh it seems complicated to do it and stuff.' But it's not. It's really easy, and like I said, they do everything for you," explained Catrejon. "It's just about taking the chance to do it and seeing how much the kids progress with it and everything they give you."
Through HIPPY, families can access the tools and foundation for high-quality early childhood education. Gonsales said that 98% of children show measured academic growth when they graduate from HIPPY.
"Something that I always love to hear is from teachers from preschool or kindergarten classrooms always saying we know when a child has participated in HIPPY before because little ones are entering into the school system already knowing how to write their names, even their last names. They already know numbers," Gonsales said.
While worksheets and books are provided to ensure the littlest of learners are set up for success, there also is a greater sense of support found in monthly meetings with HIPPY families.
"We are able to have monthly meetings where our families get together. They get to share resources [and] events that are happening in their community," said Gonsales. "That is a good way for parents to connect with other ones and for them to be able to advocate for their communities and just share everything that is going on."
Since the program began in 2020, Gonsales said there continues to be a need to provide this free program to families. She hopes more children can be supported with the help of donations and community involvement, especially through the upcoming Turkey Trot event.
"We currently have waiting lists in our programs. Lots of families want to become part of our program because they know the program is making a difference out there in the community. So we would love to keep growing our HIPPY program," said Gonsales. "Please. Any support that everyone is able to give, just think that we are making a difference in our families and little ones' lives."
There still is time to register for theMile High United Way Turkey Trot, and viewers can save $7 off registration by using the code 'Denver7' at checkout. The course starts at South High School (1700 E. Louisiana Ave., Denver, CO 80210) and you can register on-site Thanksgiving morning at tents in front of the high school.
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