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Overview, Mission, & Vision


OVERVIEW:

The Cottonwood Institute is a 501(c)3 educational non-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado. We specialize in creating 1-day, 2-day, 5-7 day courses for schools and community organizations that are fun and engaging and help students make real world connections to textbook concepts outside of the classroom. The Cottonwood Institute offers high quality project-based programs that address leadership development, civic engagement, service-learning, and environmental sustainability.

VISION:

The vision of the Cottonwood Institute is to inspire leaders to initiate positive change in their communities and beyond.

MISSION:

The mission of the Cottonwood Institute is to provide our students with an opportunity to explore the outdoors, raise their awareness of environmental issues, and empower them to take action to solve those issues through our engaging project-based curriculum.

EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

The Cottonwood Institute achieves its vision and mission by inspiring participants:

Primary:

  1. Develop essential camping and wilderness survival skills to comfortably and competently explore the outdoors.
  2. Increase their awareness of environmental issues.
  3. Take action to address these environmental issues through our environmental service-learning curriculum.
  4. Develop life skills, including: leadership, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.

Secondary:

  1. Develop their personal environmental ethic.
  2. Reduce their environmental footprint.
  3. Develop their personal service ethic.
  4. Explore future careers.

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY:

The Cottonwood Institute was founded by Ford Church, M. A. in September 2004. The idea for the Cottonwood Institute came from his passion for the outdoors, his commitment to the environment, his love for inspiring the youth of America, and from his interest in giving back to the community. In 2003, Ford received a Master’s degree in Adventure Education from Prescott College and created the Community Adventure Program as a culminating project of his thesis. The Community Adventure Program has been implemented at New Vista High School in Boulder, Colorado since October 2003 and based on the success of the program and requests for more programs from parents and students, Ford founded the Cottonwood Institute and their summer programs approximately one year later.

ANTI-DISCRIMINATION STATEMENT:

The Cottonwood Institute shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, students, hiring and firing of staff, selection of volunteers, selection of vendors, and provision of services.