Justice Summers
No one will be turned away from The INVST Program for lack of funds. Financial aid is available for those who demonstrate need.
We are committed to fostering equitable spaces where learning can take place. In order to ensure that people who want to be involved in The INVST Program can be, regardless of their access to wealth or financial resources, we endeavor to provide financial assistance to students who do not have the means -- either as individuals or with the support of their families -- to pay for this programming. We offer financial aid during the summers and the academic year, where possible. We prioritize those students with the highest financial need, as demonstrated through their FAFSA, CASFA or Income Tax Returns.
Climate Justice Summer
The Climate Justice Summer for 1st-year students in The INVST Program focuses on climate change, environmental sustainability, energy, power, equity & social justice.
Our Climate Justice Summer offers students a unique opportunity to travel together for 2 1/2 weeks and learn first-hand about eco-social justice.
The Climate Justice Summer begins with a wilderness adventure in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, where students develop a connection with the natural world. We partner with Queer Nature, who hosts our students. From there, students go to Hotchkiss, Colorado to learn and serve at Thistle Whistle, an organic farm, milking goats and learning how stewards of the land cultivate herbs and vegetables. They also hear the industry perspective on energy production, visiting a coal mine.
In Northern New Mexico, students stay at Casa Taos, a retreat center for activists. They experience first-hand some more sustainable ways of living and working the earth. They learn about water conservation and acequias, volunteering in greenhouses and along river banks and they are hosted by Daniél Escalante & Betty Artes, who provide workshops on social justice leadership and equity.
Finally, the Climate Justice Summer ends in Colorado’s capitol city, where INVST students have the opportunity to engage elected political officials including State Senator Steve Fenberg. Previous Climate Justice Summers have included visits to Joe Salazar, Michael Bennet, Alice Madden and Edie Hooton -- all elected officials. INVST students speak with coal industry lobbysists, as well as Colorado's most innovative & bold sustainability leaders. Throughout the month, the INVST students consider how energy and the US economy are interdependent. Students look for innovative solutions to complex eco-social problems.
The Climate Justice Summer with INVST is an unforgettable learning journey.
Economic Justice Summer
The Economic Justice Summer for 2nd-year students in The INVST Program gives students the opportunity to learn about immigration and economic justice.
On the Economic Justice Summer, students have the opportunity to learn about visionary organizing, immigration, sanctuary churches, social movements for workers' rights, and economic justice.
Our Economic Justice Summer curriculum gives INVST students the chance to learn about the most pressing problems and solutions facing us as a global community: human migration, push - pull across borders, and economic (in)justice. We learn with immigration justice advocates working across Colorado to unite families. Then we visit our Community Partners from Detroit, Michigan at the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership, as well as allied organizations working on economic justice, with a focus on race and class. Who is creating jobs in the US? Who are those jobs for? And in which sectors of our economy do newcomers to the United States find work? The Economic Justice Summer will take us to several locations in the country, ending back here at home where students meet with churches in Denver and Boulder that are providing sanctuary from deportation, and with organizations that are calling for immigration reform and justice for undocumented people. Finally, we meet with legislators who share their political approaches to creating change on these issues. This is a memorable and significant summer learning journey focused on immigration, racial justice and economic justice.
INVST has been offering summer learning experiences for over 30 years and we change our curriculum frequently, in order to make sure we are exposing our learners to the most pressing current issues. Both learning journeys feature opportunities to visit our trusted Community Partners with whom we have been building deep relationships for years.
We acknowledge that we live in the unceded territory of Hinóno'éà (Arapaho) and Cheyenne nations, according to the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, and that Colorado's Front Range is home to the Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute), Hinóno’éà (Arapahoe), Cheyenne, and many other Native peoples.