Student Programming, Activities & Resource Center (SPARC)

Request Relief Funds

Programs

Project Success Funds

To support students in achieving postsecondary educational success, the Project Success Funds are designed to help students overcome unexpected and unforeseen financial barriers that could impede their progress toward degree completion and potentially derail their higher education goals. To learn if you qualify for Project Success Funds, please fill out the Resource Center Request Form.

SPARC Child Care Scholarship

The Child Care Scholarship, offered by the Student Programming, Activities, and Resource Center (SPARC) at Community College of Denver (CCD), provides financial support for childcare to currently enrolled student parents. This scholarship is available through an application process distributed to registered CCD students at the start of the academic year.

SPARC Housing Scholarship 

The Housing Scholarship, provided by the Student Programming, Activities, and Resource Center (SPARC) at Community College of Denver, aims to offer financial assistance to currently enrolled students who are experiencing significant housing-related challenges. To learn if you qualify for the Housing Scholarship, please fill out the Resource Center Request Form

 

The Denver metro area is experiencing ongoing gentrification, and as a result of COVID-19, we are also bracing for a looming eviction & rental crisis. While evictions are serious and scary, you must remember that you have rights as a renter in Colorado and don’t have to face the threat of eviction alone. 

  • Download the Eviction Assistance Booklet (English or Español) compiled by the City & Country of Denver
  • Did you get a Ten-Day Notice from your landlord? Contact the Office of Financial Empowerment and Protection by calling 720.944.2498 or emailing FEC@denvergov.org
  • Foreclosure Counseling | For a guide to housing counseling, as well as information about the foreclosure process, download Foreclosure Process Guide and Resources | Guía del proceso de ejecución hipotecaria
  • 9to5 Colorado is a multiracial, grassroots, non-profit organization that combines advocacy, public education, policy work, and leadership development to achieve economic justice. 9to5 serves as the anchor organization in Colorado for the Homes4All campaign, working to ensure affordable housing for everyone, and they offer various education and civic engagement opportunities around local housing issues. Learn more and get additional resources on their website

If you are in immediate crisis, please call the Domestic Violence (DV) National Hotline at 1.800.799.7233 or the Colorado Crisis Line at 1.844.493.8255

Anyone needing access to shelter or anyone who encounters someone who needs shelter access between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday can call 2-1-1 to be connected to available resources, including transportation assistance for those who are homeless and have disabilities

Our human services staff offers information for students experiencing housing insecurities or homelessness. Students may qualify for payment assistance for off-campus housing. Learn more about need-based housing assistance and other scholarships. 

Childcare Assistance

  • The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) provides child care assistance to families who are working, searching for employment, or are in training, and families who are enrolled in the Colorado Works program and need child care services to support their efforts toward self-sufficiency. CCCAP provides access to reduced-cost child care at licensed childcare facilities or qualified (unlicensed) providers. Apply Now.

Childcare & Homeschool Co-ops 

What is a Childcare or Homeschool Co-op? The most common of the childcare models, parent model cooperatives, comprises parents who have formed a cooperative to provide quality care for their children. Below are some examples of successful co-ops, alternative youth programs, and tips to start your co-op.

  • Childcare Co-ops: An Overview of Resilience 
  • Komae is a cooperative childcare app that provides parents with a flexible care management option. On Komae, parents swap ‘Komae Points’ with other families to manage and coordinate care for their children within a trusted network. I sit for you. You sit for me. 
  • Forming a Community Babysitting Co-op: A community-babysitting cooperative is a grassroots arrangement in which families share childcare without any money changing hands. Instead, the care itself is the currency of exchange. For example, in many babysitting cooperatives, families earn points for providing care and spend points on care for their kids. Points are typically assigned to each half-hour or hour of care.
  • Parent Preschool Cooperative International: PCPI represents more than 50,000 families and teachers, providing ongoing support to families, educators, and social agencies who recognize the value of parents as teachers of their children and the necessity of educating parents to meet the developmental needs of their children.
  • Denver Cooperative Preschool envisions an active society where children and adults join in exploring life, the quest for understanding, and the journey to wisdom.
  • Rice & Beans Childcare Co-op: An early childhood education cooperative of families of color in the Lower San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland, CA. Check out their page for great educational videos and resources for organizing childcare co-ops.
  • The Radical Monarchs create opportunities for young girls of color to form fierce sisterhood, celebrate their identities, and contribute radically to their communities.

Energy Bill Assistance  

Cash Assistance 

  • Colorado Works: In Colorado, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is known as Colorado Works. It is a cash assistance program that helps eligible families with very low incomes become self-sufficient by encouraging job preparation, work, and family stabilization. Eligible applicants receive monthly cash assistance payments, help with emergency household expenses, and/or services such as counseling, training, and employment assistance. The Colorado Works Program operates in all 64 counties and is delivered locally through each county’s Department of Human or Social Services. 
  • Adult Financial Programs: Colorado’s Adult Financial Programs include the Aid to the Needy Disabled-Colorado Supplement program, the Aid to the Needy Disabled-State Only program, the Burial Assistance Program, the Old Age Pension program, the Home Care Allowance program, and the Personal Needs Allowance program.

Assistance for People with Disabilities

  • CCD Accessibility Center: Students with documented disabilities who need reasonable accommodations to access and participate in their courses should apply for services. Documented disabilities include physical health, mental health, learning, and/or temporary medical conditions.
  • Disability Determination Services (DDS) is the state agency making disability decisions for Social Security. Social Security has two disability programs - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Although there are some differences, the definition of medical disability is the same in both programs.