This weekend at 921 N Taft Hill Rd in Fort Collins there will be a gigantic yard sale to benefit the Matthews House. The sale will run Saturday and Sunday (July 25 & 26) from 7am to 2pm – please plan to stop by.

Thanks to all who have donated their gently used items to the cause and thanks to all who will come by to search for treasures.

On June 4th, thanks to the generosity of Mountain Whitewater Descents, we were able to take 6 youth along with 3 staff members for an exciting half-day rafting trip on the Cache la Poudre River. The water was high and fast and the rafting was excellent.

This was the first whitewater rafting experience for most if not all of the youth – and once we all got over looking silly in our wetsuits and the few butterflys that had congregated in our stomachs after seeing all the rapids on the bus-ride up the canyon – a great time was had by all. This was a great chance to see the importance of working together and to face and overcome fears.

On April 26th we were able to celebrate with 19 youth in the Matthews House program who have or will  soon be graduating from high school, GED and trade school programs!

photos by Courtney Craig

Please join us in honoring the graduates!!

Brittney is expecting to get her GED at end of May

Chris will graduate from Mountain View HS in May

Delissia will graduate from Fossil Ridge High in May

Dustin completed his GED last July

Elvira will graduate from Poudre High School at the end of May. Elvira will  attend college at Front Range Community College and transfer to CSU to study child psychology.

Isabella will be graduating from Loveland High School at the end of May. Isabella will be attending the University of Northern Colorado to study business. Isabel has been awarded a full ride to the University  and also a $8,000 scholarship to help with living expanse for the next four years.

Jaquy earned her GED in October 2008; received a special state waiver to take the GED early at the age of 16 (CO requires youth to be 17)

Jay will be obtaining her GED in the next couple of months and she will be attending CSU in the Fall or Spring to study engineering. Jay has already been awarded an $8,000 scholarship to help her with her schooling.

Kat graduated from the Poudre High School and currently enrolling to attend Front Range Community College in the Fall. Kat has also been working part-time.

Katie graduated from Ferguson High School in Loveland a year and half after she her projected graduation due to family issues. Katie is working full time right now and will be attending college in the Fall.

Kenny will receive his diploma from Loveland High

McKayla completed her GED last July

Michael graduated from the Aims Diploma Program and has entered the work force.

Nathan is getting his diploma from Thompson Valley high school

Norma Jean is expecting to earn GED by May through the Youth Link Program

Shane is expected to graduate with his GED at end of May

Shannon is expecting to earn her GED by May

Talisha graduated from Centennial HS in April

Tiffany graduated from Centennial High in April

Congratulations to all!

We’d like to thank the following people for celebrating with our youth and making the graduation party happen:

Everyday Joes/Timberline Oldtown for the use of their space and media/sound equipment

Diakonos Brotherhood for planning the event, preparing the food and providing a card and gift for each youth.

Outkast Redeemer for providing rockin’ music.

Thanks for loving our youth!