Link to the article on stltoday – Link to a PDF version
Brentwood would be lucky to get Boys Hope Girls Hope
March 31, 2013
I would be honored to live next door to Boys Hope Girls Hope.
I’ve been a supporter and donor of Boys Hope Girls Hope for several years, and I’m a demanding donor. I mostly give to programs having to do with literacy, ending racism and leveling the playing field for minorities, especially African-Americans. I only give to programs that have a clear vision and mission, and well-defined outcomes with outside, independent evaluation to make sure they are achieving their outcomes and goals. And they are.
I have known several bright young people who have had such heartbreaking life circumstances who, thank goodness, found their way to Boys Hope Girls Hope. And we, all of us in our community, are lucky they did. No telling what would have happened to them if they hadn’t. Jail? Continuing the cycle of poverty?
It is not easy to get into Boys Hope Girls Hope. They have strict standards and high expectations. The young people have to be drug and alcohol free, free of serious emotional or behavioral problems or learning disabilities, and academically capable and motivated. And they are.
Boys Hope Girls Hope has been so successful that it has spread to 15 cities and four other countries.
The outcomes are stellar – 100 percent of their participants go to college and almost all graduate. Boys Hope Girls Hope makes sure these young people get the love, the support and the education they need to be successful adults and part of the educated, trained workforce we so desperately need.
Brentwood, you’d be lucky to get a Boys Hope Girls Hope house in your community. Very lucky.