Calling all single parents students in Gwinnett County, Atlanta!

 
Hey Gwinnett County!

Are you a single parent currently enrolled in a college program to earn your Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree? If so, keep reading, because…

Our funding and support program for single parent students here at HOPE Inc. is now accepting applicants for the Fall 2020 semester— and we especially want to hear from YOU Gwinnett County!

About Us

H.O.P.E. Inc. is an education nonprofit supporting Metro Atlanta. We work with single parent students to help them obtain a college degree, develop essential life skills, and ultimately become self-sufficient.

We do this by providing our single parent students with:

  • Financial assistance for housing and childcare
  • A facilitator to connect our students to community resources
  • Financial literacy and a game plan for financial independence
  • Counseling resources and success coaching
Sound interesting? Here are a few more details about our program and what you can expect from us.

What we provide

  • Child care assistance– HOPE provides up to $100 per week for child care assistance— which is paid directly to the childcare provider on behalf of the program participant.
  • Rent assistance– We provide up to $400 per month in rent assistance, paid directly to the mortgage lender or apartment leasing officer on behalf of the program participant.
  • Social services – One of our licensed social worker volunteers will be available to provide more information and assistance on obtaining services such as food stamps, Medicaid, and locating quality childcare or housing.
  • Life skills training– Participants will have access to free training programs that include topics such as job-related training, career advancement skills, resume/ interview prep, job search skills, as well as our financial literacy programs. Participants will also be invited to monthly webinars on budgeting and credit counseling provided by a certified financial advisor.
  • Emotional support & mentoring– You’ll work with us to develop a Personalized Service Plan that will help us assess areas of need, and also identifies areas in which the participant needs emotional support and mentoring as pathways to empowerment. Referrals to community resources such as a licensed counselor for the participant and children will also be available.

What you’ll need to apply

In order to apply…

  • You must be a US Citizen, a single parent with primary custody, and a high school graduate (or have obtained a GED)
  • Enrolled in a two or four-year college as a full-time student working towards a degree (no certificates or diplomas)
  • Employed as an FT or PT employee for at least 6 months
  • Dependants must LIVE WITH the applicant
  • Show financial need
  • Have a 2.7 GPA or higher
Sound like you? Check out our application page to apply today!

 

We’re hoping it does!

They say that April showers bring May flowers, but does it? Is there really hope on the other side of this pandemic? We certainly believe there is hope. We see it every week through the actions of our donors. Here’s a video telling you just how much they’ve supported single-parent families that need them right now! We also slid in a little update about how we’re doing as an organization overall. I hope you enjoy it!

Sincerely,

Kenita Smith, BBA, MBA, MA
President/CEO & Founder
H.O.P.E, Inc.

P.S. Don’t forget about our Redirect HOPE giving campaign! The only way to keep helping the single-parent families in our program is through the donations you give. The SBA loans and other COVID19 relief efforts can’t be used to provide direct program services. We need you to keep HOPE going another ten years. Click here to donate the gas, restaurant, hair cut, coffee, or nail money you saved and make a difference. 

Had you found the same?

I received a call from a monthly donor a few weeks ago stating that she was doing her monthly budget when she realized she had more income than in previous months due to a decrease in expenses from being quarantined. She immediately called to see if she could increase her monthly donation.

Since her call, we have had several monthly donors do the same without having to ask them, and even other supporters were looking for more ways to help.

I’ve noticed myself that my household has saved hundreds in gas,   and hundreds more in cosmetics such as hair, nails, pedicures,   massages, entertainment, and even auto insurance.

 What about you? 

Are you noticing that you have more money available these   months and are you looking for ways to help people during   COVID19?

 If your answer is yes, we have a great opportunity for you! Why   not give the $35 you would have spent on nails this month, or the   $200 you saved on gas, to single-parent families that need your       help?

We’ve had 50% of our active participants affected by this disease with either the virus itself, job loss, or reduced hours. Like other nonprofits, we are fundraising vigorously to support our single-parent families. That’s why we have started a COVID Relief fund to meet their needs.

If you would like to give to that fund between now and June 30th, please click here and impact lives when they need you most!

Sincerely,

Kenita Smith, BBA, MBA, MA
President/CEO & Founder
H.O.P.E, Inc.

P.S. Want to help people impacted by COVID19? Donate to our COVID Relief Fund and give hope to single parents in need. 

The Fight is Not Over!

Hey HOPE Family, 

We will not allow the coronavirus to stop our commitment to single parents.

Why? Because despite the challenges this virus has created, we still have single-parent

families who depend on us. They cannot wait until “normalcy” returns. Therefore, we will not rest while they wait for government stimulus checks and unemployment, and we hope you will not wait, either.

That’s why on May 5th, we are participating in #GivingTuesdayNow. This global day of giving and unity was created as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19.

On this special day, please consider making a gift to help our community when it’s needed most. Your donation is tax-deductible, and your gift will be used to serve our single-parent families when they need our support the most.

Our work does not stop because of a crisis. That is why your support is appreciated now more than ever. Thank you in advance for joining us on this remarkable day of giving and unity, and for continuing to be a partner we can count on.

With gratitude,

Kenita Smith, BBA, MBA, MA
President/CEO & Founder
H.O.P.E, Inc.

P.S. On May 5th continue to make a difference in the lives of those that need you! The fight isn’t over for our single parents, but you’re keeping their HOPE alive. 

Did you really help? Yes, you did!

Hi There,

We try to never leave you hanging when you support our single-parent families and our mission. It is my hope that you always feel informed and know where your dollars are going. Below, I have created a video (don’t worry it’s brief and fun) that will update you on how you have supported COVID19 victims and how we’re surviving.

I hope you enjoyed it!

Sincerely,

Kenita Smith, BBA, MBA, MA
President/CEO and Founder
H.O.P.E, Inc.

Today is the Day!


It’s March 9th! Today is the day that we kick off our Global Giving Project that we told you about a couple of days ago.

The purpose of this project is to help seven single parents complete their college degrees this year and increase the number of single parents we assist. Now we know that sometimes you may feel like there’s always a need and you just can’t help everyone, but we would like to offer another perspective.

Yes, there is always a need, BUT you have single-handedly met the needs of 195 people SUCCESSFULLY! In Gwinnett County alone, less than 30% of single-parent students are graduating, but YOU have an 80% graduation rate! You aren’t making a small difference, you are making a HUGE difference!!

This project will give you the option to keep doing what you’ve been doing and impact more lives, but it will also open the opportunity to others that may want to help too!

What do we need you to do? (1) We need you to go to our Global Giving Project: Empower & Equip Single Parents Enrolled in College and commit to offering one of the following gifts to our single parents…

– $10 to help a single parent open a savings account
– $25 to provide financial training for a single parent
– $50 provides counseling for a single parent
– $100 provides a full weeks worth of childcare
– $250 shelters a single parent and their children for one month
– $1,000 secures childcare for a year!

REMEMBER YOU HAVE TO DONATE THROUGH OUR PROJECT SITE, NOT OUR WEBSITE FOR THE GIFT TO COUNT.

(2) Become our ambassador and share your donation on your social media sites, encouraging others to join you. They say child-rearing takes a village, well I’m convinced that fundraising does too. The great thing about our village is that you’re always there!

We have two weeks to reach our goal of $5,000 from 40 different donors! Will you make it happen? I’m confident that you will.

Sincerely,

Kenita Smith, BBA, MBA, MBA
President/CEO and Founder
H.O.P.E, Inc.

P.S. It’s kick-off day! We need 40 donors to go to our Global Giving Project: Empower & Equip Single Parents Enrolled in College and help us reach our project goal of $5,000! 

What would you do?


What would you do with a 121% increase in salary? I would imagine that things would look quite different financially for you. You would be in a new tax bracket, economic class,

could possibly afford to purchase things you’ve dreamt about, and would certainly improve your quality of life, right?

Well, that’s what 42% of our graduates are experiencing right now. With less than one year in their new careers, many of them have increased their annual income by 121%! Most went from making under $20,000 to over $50,000 because YOU believed in them!

I’m writing today to tell you about an exciting opportunity that we have this month, and we need your help to achieve our goal.

It’s no secret, that we have been on a mission to grow, and we have done so gradually and gracefully over the past ten years, especially in the last three years. This month we have an opportunity to become members of the Global Giving Network, but in order to do so, we need to raise a total of $5,000 from 40 individual donors to help increase the number of single parents we can serve this year.

The name of our project is Empower & Equip Single Parents Enrolled in College, and we need all of our supporters to go to our project and give between the dates of March 9th and March 25th. Now, the KEY is you MUST give on our Global Giving site within these dates for the gift to count. You can give…

$10 to help a single parent open a savings account
$25 to provide financial training for a single parent
$50 provides counseling for a single parent
$100 provides a full weeks worth of childcare
$250 shelters a single parent and their children for one month
$1,000 secures childcare for a year!

Why is this important? We want to see our seven upcoming graduates increase their incomes by 121% too, and we want to empower more single parents to complete their college education. What you all have done is nothing short of AMAZING through our HOPE program, and we want to keep up the good work we are both doing in the community.

Let’s keep changing lives together and exceed our project goal to reach more single parents!

Sincerely,


Kenita Smith, BBA, MBA, MA
President/CEO & Founder
H.O.P.E, Inc.

P.S. it all kicks off March 9th! We just need 40 individual donors to help us raise $5,000 to change more lives! 

In less than 30 days…

Hey there,

In less than 30 days, my world as I know it will change. You’ve heard stories about how I became a single mom at age 21, and have raised my two biological sons, and stepson, Deon Jr., to beat the odds. Well, within 4 weeks there will be a new addition to my family, and yes, it is another BOY!

We wait with anticipation because Ronald Jr. (RJ) has been longed for with faithful prayers for 25 years by my husband, Ron. RJ will be his very first biological child and the very first grandson on his side of the family! It’s no wonder that our families and friends are so excited for us, as evident by the 100 people in attendance for our baby shower last weekend (and that was a reduced list).

I feel privileged and honored to give my husband this great gift, and in thinking about what it means to have a dream fulfilled, I thought about the great gift you and I give to the single parents we serve every day. Of course, being a conduit of something so special changes one’s life and perspective.

I think about how you helped give Dominique (pictured on the left) her long term dream of becoming a Dental Hygienist. After twelve years of hoping to achieve this goal, she graduated in December 2019, along with nine other graduates! Not only that, she was THE FIRST MEMBER IN HER FAMILY TO GRADUATE FROM COLLEGE! Of course, as a teen mom, she wasn’t expected to accomplish much. The odds were stacked against her, and society stipulated her abilities and worth. Yet, she graduated with a high G.P.A, had job offers in hand before walking the stage, passed her state boards, and increased her salary from $18,000 to $35,000! She took advantage of our financial training programs, increased her credit score by 32 points, and established an emergency fund of $600.

In the months to come, we’ll be sharing your impact in 2019. Life change, like what you just accomplished through your work with H.O.P.E, Inc., is not something to take lightly. Ten lives were changed just last year because of you, and in 2020 seven more graduates will walk across the stage due to your continued support!

So, as I wait for my bundle of joy, I hope that you are filled with joy. The joy of knowing that you not only changed one life last year but ten and you have seven more to impact this year!

Sincerely,

Kenita Smith, BBA, MBA, MA
President/CEO & Founder
H.O.P.E, Inc.