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Cerebral Palsy of Colorado

RAMP staff and youth celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer with a bowling party!Cerebral Palsy of Colorado's (CPCO) Employment Works program operates RAMP in Denver, Colorado. CPCO is a nonprofit organization that provides job placement assistance and career exploration services to youth with disabilities.

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Our Youth's Career Goals...

CPCO's RAMP youth have a wide variety of creative and technology-related career interests, including:

Pilot  ♦  Pediatrician  ♦  Singer  ♦  Dancer  ♦  Child Care Provider  ♦  Chef  ♦  Architect  ♦  Film Studio Technician ♦  Graphic Designer  ♦  Forensic Scientist

Our Youth's Weekly Goals...

Each week, CPCO's RAMP youth set and achieve goals related to Learning (in school), Connecting (positive social skills and behaviors), Thriving (physical and emotional wellbeing), Working (vocational skills and experience), Leading (civic involvement and personal goals), and disability (accommodations, awareness, etiquette, and history). Some of there recent goals have been:

  • RAMP youth learn about caring for ostriches from a caretaker conducting a behind-the-scenes tour at the Denver Zoo. Youth learned about the many careers available at zoos.Not to get any “reflections” (in-school discipline referral).
  • Finish all of my study guides.
  • Turn in homework for all my classes.
  • Get an A on the math test!
  • Get out of drama and get a good grade on this week’s science test.
  • Get along with my mom.
  • Focus in school and don’t talk back to my parents.
  • Win! Win! The soccer game!
  • Turn in missing activity logs.
  • Type application letter for West Academy

Our Recent Exciting Activities...

  • RAMP youth at PS1 Charter School completed their live show about school closures in Denver. 
  • RAMP youth participated in a behind-the-scenes tour of the Denver Zoo, where they learned about the many different careers at the zoo.
  • RAMP youth from Vanguard Charter and P.S.1 Charter School celebrated the end of the school year with a bowling party.
  • RAMP youth at P.S.1 Charter School participated in a graphic design demonstration creating a poster with Denver’s Fox31’s art director.

Our Youth Say...

  • "I liked that I got to have fun learning things and planning and making goals and that we had so much fun with all of our activities."
  •  "We got to know each other and make videos and had fun."
  • "I like RAMP because I can be myself and don’t have to be scared."
  •  "Working with cameras, lights and shooting film was awesome!"
  • "RAMP helps you learn how to get a job and work with people."
  • "I liked that we got to create shows and that we got mentoring for work and school."
  •  "We got to connect with friends through RAMP."

Our Mentors Say...

  • "I have sincerely enjoyed the RAMP program and career focus that it allows youth as well as seeing their academic and social growth"
  • "RAMP is great, because of the large class sizes in our education system. It gives our students more one-on-one attention."
  • "RAMP's career focus is so valuable in helping youth connect to resources and explore the world of work."

Our Innovative Partnerships

Click this image to see the hour-long piece on school closings that UCPCO RAMP youth helped create with Denver Open Media's Spotlight on Students show on local public access television.Denver Open Media was a great resource for training mentors, staff, and youth use media equipment and technology. RAMP youth had the opportunity to share their voices with peers and a broader audience on Denver’s public access television stations. Denver Open Media also showed youth the operation of a live television studio. Youth developed skills and experiences they can include in their resumes related to media careers.

Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum provides tours guided by former military personnel. Tours focus on the specific education or credentials necessary for different types of careers in the aerospace and aviation industries, including aircraft maintenance, marketing, operating equipment, and more. Some students even had the opportunity to check out onsite flight simulators.

Johnson and Wales University led RAMP youth through an engaging campus visit, exposing youth to opportunities in the culinary industry. University students and staff told youth about the different types of degrees and how long it takes to earn them, how to get accepted to the school, how much tuition costs, how to secure scholarships, what careers are available after graduation, and how to dress and behave for success in class and the workplace. Youth were also exposed to dormitories and campus life.