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What is H.O.P.E.?

Developed by the Rotary Club of Oakland in 1994, H.O.P.E. provides inner city youth with a way to succeed. H.O.P.E. is an acronym for Help Oakland Pupils Excel. There are four key people in each H.O.P.E. relationship: a 7^th grade student, his or her parent or caregiver, a mentor serving under the auspices of the Rotary Club, and the Oakland School District. Each signs a contract agreeing to meet certain requirements as port of the program:

The School District promises to provide necessary information to the mentor so that he/she can measure the student’s performance against the contract.

The mentor promises to meet with the student at least twice per month.

The parent/caregiver promises to encourage the student/mentor relationship

The student promises to maintain a minimum of a 2.5 GPA, 90% school attendance and a drug and crime free existence throughout junior high and high school.

If the student meets all of the requirements of the contract, the Rotary Club H.O.P.E. Fund will pay $10,000 toward his or her post-secondary education.

Why is H.O.P.E. necessary?

Only 30% of the students in a Oakland inner city seventh grade class will finish High School.
70% of the seventh graders at Lowell did not live with either one of their natural parents.
They are exposed daily to boarded-up houses and stores, pimps and prostitutes, drugs and weapons.
Many know of no other future than welfare and do not believe that they can improve their lives.
Their world can appear H.O.P.E. less.

The H.O.P.E. program began in Lowell Middle School in West Oakland with the selection of the first five students in February, 1994. The Program has deliberately not selected students who have above 3.0 GPA simply because the possibility of success, without outside help, is probably higher among those students. We have select students between a 2.5 and 2.9 GPA who are more at risk than some, but who have not already given up on the system.

Why will H.O.P.E. succeed?

H.O.P.E. has all of the necessary ingredients to achieve the desired results:

It promotes parental/caregiver involvement.
It provides ongoing skilled mentoring (all mentors are professionally trained) by someone who has achieved success and can thereby expose the student to more options in life.
It involves the schools in such a way that they can become even more committed to the students.
It provides a pot of gold at the end of what can now be seen as a rainbow. That pot of gold is an education and a job that will allow self-sufficiency and self-respect.

The program also creates a peer group to encourage each other. We will select at least five students each year (more if funding is available). By the year 2003, we will have H.O.P.E. students at every grade level between the 7^th grade and senior year in college. When they all come together, the older ones will provide the successful role model that the younger ones need. No program that just throws money at a problem can be expedited to succeed. There is no quick answer to the rebuilding of our inner cities, but if we take it one step at time and meaningfully affect the lives of a few, we will have begun the turnaround. Success breeds success, and one participant in the process truly can make a difference.

H.O.P.E. provides students continuity of support and a long-term commitment to their success.

How do I participate in H.O.P.E.?

As an individual, you can make contributions to O.R.E. (Oakland Rotary Endowment, a 501c (3) nonprofit corporation) – H.O.P.E. or make a pledge over 5 years. We’ll send you a quarterly statement. A $5,000 pledge is only $250 per quarter; a $1,000 pledge, only $50 per quarter. Or, donate some stock. Anything you do will be greatly appreciated by the students, and more donations means more H.O.P.E. students.

How can my company/organization participate in H.O.P.E.?

Naturally, any financial support is greatly appreciated but you may elect to become more involved. If your company donates $7,500 to H.O.P.E., we will provide you with a H.O.P.E. student. We will provide the contract, the mentor training for one of your employee/members, and all of the necessary paperwork and college counseling necessary for your employee/member to guide your student through the program.