The History of Project VOYCE

Project VOYCE was founded in 2006 by students, to serve students. The temporary closure of Manual High School- a traditionally underserved, high minority, high free/reduced lunch, inner city public school in Denver - served as a catalyst for the creation of Project VOYCE (Voices of Youth Creating Equity). While the closure and school redesign efforts promised authentic community engagement, the youth and community’s recommendations were left out of the final reports and ultimate redesign. Determined to ensure that the insights of youth and community would be heard and utilized in future, two Manual alumni, a former teacher and the founder of YouthBiz, launched Project VOYCE.

At Project VOYCE, we believe that youth must be engaged as partners in their own development and the development of their communities--our motto is “nothing about us, without us.” Project VOYCE is Denver's most authentic youth-driven leadership and advocacy training hub.