Generation Hope NGOs
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OUR MISSION AND HISTORY:
To ensure all student parents have the opportunities to succeed and experience economic mobility, Generation Hope engages education and policy partners to drive systemic change and provides direct support to teen parents in college as well as their children through holistic, two-generation programming. Generation Hope was founded by Nicole Lynn Lewis, a former teen parent who experienced immense challenges as a young mother in college and saw how a college degree transformed her and her daughter's lives. She founded Generation Hope to help other young families thrive.
OUR PROGRAMS:
Generation Hope implements an innovative two-generation approach that helps entire families achieve their educational goals and experience economic mobility.
Our Scholar Program helps teen parents earn college degrees and secure jobs with family sustaining wages by: (1) Pairing each Scholar with a caring adult mentor; (2) Providing robust and personalized case management; (3) Making connections and identifying supports for Scholars related to housing instability, food insecurity, unemployment, domestic violence, and other challenges; (4) Offering year-round career readiness programming; (5) Providing mental health supports, including one-on-one counseling with an on-staff certified professional; (6) Hosting a range of social events and trainings throughout the year; (7) Offering tutoring and study halls; (8) Providing critical financial support through tuition assistance (up to $2,400/year) and emergency funding to help Scholars meet urgent short-term financial needs that could derail the Scholars’ college journey; (9) Distributing essential items (i.e., school supplies, grocery and gas gift cards, and diapers) twice per year, and gifts for families during the holiday season. Over the last year, we increased the number of teen parents we support from 87 to 122.
Our Next Generation Academy helps the children of our Scholars prepare for success and wellbeing in kindergarten and beyond by: (1) Providing regular screenings and supports focused on each child’s literacy, motor, academic, and social emotional development; (2) Offering monthly home visits to provide learning resources and equip parents with the tools they need to continue learning on an ongoing basis; (3) Offering mental health support for both parents and their children, including one-on-one counseling, therapeutic groups, and workshops; (4) Providing a culturally-relevant and age-appropriate book for each child each month to help them build their home libraries; (5) Hosting monthly family dinners that include time for families to build relationships with each other and participate in educational activities; (6) Helping families identify high-quality childcare and providing financial support to help them access that childcare; (7) Hosting a range of trainings, workshops, and social events throughout the year; (8) Connecting Scholars and their children to “resource families” in the community to help build the Scholar’s social capital and identify resources for the child. Over the last year, we increased the number of children we support from 30 to 35, and expanded the age range to include children ages 1 through 7 so that we can provide more comprehensive support to children in their first year of kindergarten and as they transition to the early elementary years.
OUR IMPACT:
Fewer than 2% of teen mothers earn a college degree before they turn 30, but Generation Hope Scholars’ graduation rate exceeds the national average for ALL college students, is almost double the rate of low-income students, and is almost eight times the rate of single mothers nationwide. The percentage of our Scholars employed and/or in graduate school within six months of graduation is higher than the average for ALL graduates in our region, and 92% of our alumni reported an income above the federal poverty line within six months of graduation. Furthermore, 100% of Scholars say they feel that the Generation Hope community accepts them for who they are. After one year in Next Generation Academy, 100% of children were on track with age-appropriate social-emotional, cognitive, and academic development.
FROM OUR SCHOLARS:
To ensure all student parents have the opportunities to succeed and experience economic mobility, Generation Hope engages education and policy partners to drive systemic change and provides direct support to teen parents in college as well as their children through holistic, two-generation programming. Generation Hope was founded by Nicole Lynn Lewis, a former teen parent who experienced immense challenges as a young mother in college and saw how a college degree transformed her and her daughter's lives. She founded Generation Hope to help other young families thrive.
OUR PROGRAMS:
Generation Hope implements an innovative two-generation approach that helps entire families achieve their educational goals and experience economic mobility.
Our Scholar Program helps teen parents earn college degrees and secure jobs with family sustaining wages by: (1) Pairing each Scholar with a caring adult mentor; (2) Providing robust and personalized case management; (3) Making connections and identifying supports for Scholars related to housing instability, food insecurity, unemployment, domestic violence, and other challenges; (4) Offering year-round career readiness programming; (5) Providing mental health supports, including one-on-one counseling with an on-staff certified professional; (6) Hosting a range of social events and trainings throughout the year; (7) Offering tutoring and study halls; (8) Providing critical financial support through tuition assistance (up to $2,400/year) and emergency funding to help Scholars meet urgent short-term financial needs that could derail the Scholars’ college journey; (9) Distributing essential items (i.e., school supplies, grocery and gas gift cards, and diapers) twice per year, and gifts for families during the holiday season. Over the last year, we increased the number of teen parents we support from 87 to 122.
Our Next Generation Academy helps the children of our Scholars prepare for success and wellbeing in kindergarten and beyond by: (1) Providing regular screenings and supports focused on each child’s literacy, motor, academic, and social emotional development; (2) Offering monthly home visits to provide learning resources and equip parents with the tools they need to continue learning on an ongoing basis; (3) Offering mental health support for both parents and their children, including one-on-one counseling, therapeutic groups, and workshops; (4) Providing a culturally-relevant and age-appropriate book for each child each month to help them build their home libraries; (5) Hosting monthly family dinners that include time for families to build relationships with each other and participate in educational activities; (6) Helping families identify high-quality childcare and providing financial support to help them access that childcare; (7) Hosting a range of trainings, workshops, and social events throughout the year; (8) Connecting Scholars and their children to “resource families” in the community to help build the Scholar’s social capital and identify resources for the child. Over the last year, we increased the number of children we support from 30 to 35, and expanded the age range to include children ages 1 through 7 so that we can provide more comprehensive support to children in their first year of kindergarten and as they transition to the early elementary years.
OUR IMPACT:
Fewer than 2% of teen mothers earn a college degree before they turn 30, but Generation Hope Scholars’ graduation rate exceeds the national average for ALL college students, is almost double the rate of low-income students, and is almost eight times the rate of single mothers nationwide. The percentage of our Scholars employed and/or in graduate school within six months of graduation is higher than the average for ALL graduates in our region, and 92% of our alumni reported an income above the federal poverty line within six months of graduation. Furthermore, 100% of Scholars say they feel that the Generation Hope community accepts them for who they are. After one year in Next Generation Academy, 100% of children were on track with age-appropriate social-emotional, cognitive, and academic development.
FROM OUR SCHOLARS: