Our Work│Generation Hope reduces poverty one family at a time by providing direct sponsorships and mentoring support to teen parents who are pursuing college degrees in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. We are a one-of-a-kind, innovative program focused on college completion for a population that is overlooked regarding their potential and dreams for the future. Our mission is to match Sponsors with teen parents who are attending college and who are in need of financial and emotional support. Based on the belief that education is vital to success, we aim to give young parents and their children a support system as they pursue academic excellence, to provide a direct-support experience for sponsoring organizations and individuals, and to create a new generation of ambitious and successful families.
The Generation Hope Scholar Program comprises the bulk of the organization's activities and is the basis of its work. After just two weeks in this program, Jenny sent a message saying that she and her son had been kicked out on the street, and she needed to drop out of school. Within 24 hours, our staff helped Jenny develop an action plan, and today she is still in college. This experience is not uncommon for teen parents. Therefore, each day we create a sense of belonging and support through individualized services and strategic programming. We base Scholar/Sponsor matches on five proven criteria, provide initial mentoring training, check in on Scholars and Sponsors monthly, organize field trips, and conduct personal/academic/professional workshops.
The five major services offered to teen parents through the Generation Hope Scholar Program are:
- Matching with an organization/individual that will provide financial and mentoring support
- Facilitating sponsorships to ease tuition costs
- Identifying needed services
- Hosting the annual Hope Conference
- Providing ongoing general support
In addition to assisting current college students, the program also includes outreach to teen parents in high school, encouraging them to consider college as a true possibility.
