2020 Parent Giving Impact Report

Creating a Culture of Student Wellness

Student success at CU Boulder is possible because of parent donors. During the 2019–20 academic year, 2,790 CU Boulder parents contributed a total of nearly $15 million to the campus, including over $1 million to the Parent Fund. As part of this success, Parent Fund donations helped meet our $2 million challenge goal for student health and wellness, including $1 million in matching funds from CU mom and alumna Shari Sapp (Fin’84) and her family.

Parent commitment and support helps Buffs succeed from the moment they enroll at CU Boulder — academically, socially and emotionally — through graduation and beyond. Thank you to our parent donors for their generosity and for being part of the CU community.

$1,021,858

in gifts to the Parent Fund

 

 

$14,995,249

in total parent gifts across the university

2,793

parent donors, including 1,310 donors to the Parent Fund

56,378

student encounters through Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), including 8,037 telehealth appointments from March through June

1,134

after-hours CAPS calls — a 46.8% increase over the previous year

132

recovery meetings through the CU Collegiate Recovery Center, with an average attendance of six students per meeting

16,300 

student contacts and 1,300 faculty and staff contacts (up 75%) through Health Promotion programs

75

live, virtual fitness classes with 364 attendees, following facility closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic

19 

inclusive Rec Center events for 672 students, including yoga for women of color, rock climbing for novices, Black student skate night and more
 

A Focus On Student Health & Wellness

Our vision is a CU Boulder campus where every student feels welcome, safe, seen and heard. In today’s environment, this objective is more important than ever. That’s why all 2019–20 Parent Fund donations supported student mental health and wellness programs, bolstering prevention, intervention and assessment at CU Boulder.

  • Scale health and wellness services

  • Create an environment of holistic wellness

  • Improve partnerships on and off campus, including with families and parents

  • Equip students for healthy, productive adulthoods

Students working out on outdoor fitness equipment

Integration

Create a deeply rooted culture of care and wellness that is embedded in the entire CU Boulder community, and eliminate stigma around mental health challenges. This will include opportunities such as faculty and staff training and resources, embedding clinicians in schools and colleges, and creating campus policies that are more student-centered.

Students working out outside

Collaboration

Incorporate student health and wellness into the full spectrum of education, including on the CU Boulder campus and within the Colorado K-12 community.

A student with chip in nap pods

Stephanie and Carl Schachter (parents of Evelyn ‘20, Caroline ‘22 and Harrison ‘24)

Stephanie and Carl Schachter
Parents of Evelyn (EBio'20), Caroline (Psych'22) and Harrison (MCDBio'24)

“CU Boulder has taken a leadership position in cultivating both awareness and engagement in health and wellness practices, and in recognizing these services as being key to success during the college experience and beyond. We have come to truly appreciate the genuine care that is a part of the university's very being, and that this focus on wellness helps all our students in some way and at some point in their time at CU. But there is no line item in the university budget for this; it is powered by the Parent Fund. To support the continued leadership and development of health and wellness services for all our students, we are privileged to give to the Parent Fund.”

 

 

Lindsay and Ford Smith, Jr
Parents of Ford (Hist'19)

“We have chosen to support CU Boulder in academics as well as the ski team. Academics are paramount to a university, and CU has delivered in spades. The extraordinary curriculum, beautiful campus and the town of Boulder have given us many enjoyable memories. Additionally, skiing is an integral part of the culture of Colorado, and the CU ski team has been a historic part of CU's legacy. We are all skiers, and supporting our passion means the world to us.”

The Smith family standing in front of mountains

 

 

Nadyah Spahn headshot

Nadyah Spahn (IntlAf’21)

As a peer wellness coach at CU Boulder, Nadyah Spahn (IntlAf’21) helps her fellow Buffs navigate one of the most defining — and challenging — periods of their lives.

Nadyah helps peers work through issues of stress, anxiety and depression, as well as school work and social life. “Especially as freshmen, students can feel lost on such a big campus,” she said. “It really helps for them to have a peer to talk to, to help them achieve their goals. It helps them not feel so alone.”

Gifts from the Parent Fund helped support programs like peer wellness coaching during 2019–20. This free service, now available to all CU Boulder students, is a great way for students to optimize their health and wellness or make meaningful changes in their lives.

The program is also inspiring for the coaches themselves, like Nadyah. Being a peer wellness coach has given her a broader sense of purpose and wellbeing in her daily life: “It helps me feel like I’m a part of something and really making a difference.”

 

 

Kaley Keefe (Psych’21)

“Being part of the peer wellness coaching program has transformed my college experience. The other coaches have become my closest friends, and supporting other students makes me feel like I have a meaningful role in the CU community.”

Kaley Keefe headshot