Fall 2025 Supporting Guardian Scholars at CU Boulder

This fall there are 18 Guardian Scholars in the CU Boulder program.  Through the generous donations of many amazing families, we were able to set up dorm rooms for the 2 freshmen and get them computers so they could begin their college careers with confidence.  We also had 2 summer birthdays, and we put together Birthday Boxes for them.

All 18 of the students will be receiving Welcome Back To School Care Packages with snacks, the notes of encouragement you have sent in, and we will be letting them know that we have added funds to their Flatiron cards.

We have 5 more students that are new to the Guardian Scholar program.  They are either transfer students or they were at CU Boulder but did not know about the Guardian Scholars program.  So they entered the program as a sophomore or a junior.  Several of these students need computers.  Either they don't have one or they are using a friend's computer or they have a computer but it no longer functions well.

For the sophomores, we would like to help them set up their apartments.  They were in a dorm last year and so they didn't need things like pots & pans, dishes & glasses, a vacuum & mop, etc., but now they do.

For students who do not have parental or family support -- they have aged out of foster care, or they are declared emancipated by the courts, or they are independent and homeless -- they have greater needs. They don't have someone to call when they need a new pair of shoes, or extra money for food, or a jacket for the cold weather.  And these kind of necessities are not covered by their financial aid.

That's where we come in!  We are a group of families that want to help support these students. We work with the University of Colorado, Boulder and support students in their Guardian Scholars Program.  

We do this through several programs:

• Care Packages - We try to send them care packages at least 3 times a semester -- at the start of the semester, for midterms and for finals.  We also send them a box for their birthday, and graduation gifts. We include letters of encouragement and birthday cards written by you.
• We put money on their Flatiron Cards.  This not only meets their food needs but allows them to socialize with friends and go out to local restaurants.
• We address other needs they have throughout the year which could include computer needs, driving lessons, etc.
• And if they are moving into a dorm or apartment for the first time, we help them with necessities.

We began in 2022 and here are some of the comments we have received from the students:

“I keep the letters with me and reread them when I’m having a tough day.”

"When I was a freshman, my roommate got Care Packages from her Mom.  I never thought that someday I would be getting them too. Thank you!”

"This is such a relief.  I was stressing about how to make my meals stretch this week."

"Because of you, I completed my driving lessons and I have a license now.  Thank you!"

“A bag of chips may not be a big deal to you.  But when I’m studying and I take a bag of chips from my Care Package and I think that someone cared enough to send this to me, a bag of chips is a big deal to me.”