Giving Teen Parents the Opportunity to Become College Graduates and Professionals

“Less than two percent of teen mothers who have a baby before age 18 earn a college degree before age 30.”  (Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy)

Generation Hope is giving teen parents the support that they need to become college graduates and professionals who will greatly impact the world that we live in. Incorporated in 2010, Generation Hope began supporting young mothers and young fathers attending college in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC. The Scholar Program comprises the bulk of the organization’s activities and is the basis of our work.  Recognizing that emotional and financial support pose the two most significant obstacles to teen parents’ educational achievement, each Scholar is matched with a Sponsor who provides up to $2,400 per year in tuition support as well as one-on-one mentoring until that Scholar earns their college degree. 

The five major services offered to teen parents through the Generation Hope Scholar Program are: 

1. Matching with an organization/individual that will provide financial and mentoring support;
2.  Facilitating sponsorships to ease tuition costs;
3. Identifying needed services;
4. Hosting the annual Hope Conference; and
5. Providing ongoing case management. 

In addition to assisting current college students, Generation Hope also raises awareness among younger teen parents that college is indeed an option through college-readiness workshops and our Hope Conference.  Lastly, our Emergency Fund allows us to assist Scholars through crisis situations.

Support Generation Hope’s Mission by Becoming a Mentor:

We are actively recruiting mentors for our incoming class of young parents. Our mentors, intentionally referred to as Sponsors, commit up to $2,400 in tuition assistance ($1,200 if their mentee is attending a community college). Most importantly, Sponsors act as mentors for their Scholars throughout the Scholar’s college career, providing encouragement, support, and resources to help that Scholar reach the finish line.  It’s a truly unique and invested giving opportunity. We also have companies that sign up to provide tuition assistance for a number of Scholars and ask that we find the Sponsors to mentor. If you’re interested in becoming a Sponsor or getting your company involved in financially sponsoring young parents in college, we want to hear from you! For more information, please reach out to our Director of Programming, Caroline Griswold Short, at caroline@supportgenerationhope.org.

Support Generation Hope through a well-designed employee giving program:

As Generation Hope’s workplace giving partner, America’s Charities can help your company design and implement a program centered on supporting their work – through workplace giving campaigns, employee fundraising, cause-focused signature programs, volunteerism, matching gifts, Dollars-for-Doers, In-Kind Giving and other employee engagement and philanthropic initiatives. Click here to request a demo and learn how we can help you do this.