SAINT LOUIS, MO. August 8, 2017 – The Stupski Foundation has awarded Boys Hope Girls Hope a $300,000 research grant for an extensive study, which will help determine standards of program efficacy across six U.S.-based Academy programs that are all carrying out the Boys Hope Girls Hope organizational mission but pursuing it in different ways. This information will be used as a guide as the organization prepares to scale up over the next decade.
The study, led by researchers from Clemson University, Oregon State University, and the University of South Carolina, is expected to take 15 months and will include the following Boys Hope Girls Hope affiliates: Arizona, Colorado, Detroit, Northeastern Ohio, San Francisco, and St. Louis.
“This study has the capacity to improve our work by identifying core programmatic elements most likely to deliver the positive outcomes so critical to our scholars and their families,” said Kristin Ostby de Barillas, President & CEO of Boys Hope Girls Hope International.
Like the Boys Hope Girls Hope Residential program, the Academy program provides holistic poverty intervention for vulnerable youth who are motivated to succeed and whose backgrounds include tremendous need. The programs focus on academic growth and whole-person development. Boys Hope Girls Hope scholars are enrolled in college-preparatory programs at top-rated area schools or provided college-preparatory curriculum in their current school district; matched with tutors who help them reach their academic potential and mentors who share their life experience; enrolled in extracurricular activities designed to help them discover themselves and the world around them; and engaged in community service projects that teach them the value of living a life committed to serving others. The Academy program first launched in 2004 at Boys Hope Girls Hope of Arizona. Since then, the program has expanded to five U.S.-based affiliates and one Latin American affiliate.
“Our Academy programs have developed according to local needs, resources, and ideas, leading to a wide-range of program models. We are confident that this project has the capacity to improve our work and contribute to the work of other organizations working to have the greatest impact on the lives of young people in need,” Ostby de Barillas added.
The study will be led by Ed Bowers, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Youth Development Leadership at Clemson University whose expertise is in positive youth development and the influence of non-parental social supports promoting positive and healthy development in young people. Joining him is John Geldhof, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University, and Samuel McQuillin, an Assistant Professor of School Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina and the director of the USC Academic Mentoring Program for Education and Development.
“John, Sam, and I are very excited to collaborate with BHGH on this project. It presents a real opportunity for contributing to the mission and growth of BHGH, impacting the programs and practices of youth development, and moving the field of developmental science forward. We think these practitioner-researcher collaborations provide the greatest potential for promoting well-being and success in the lives of young people,” said Bowers.
The Stupski Foundation was founded by Larry Stupski, a former president and COO at Charles Schwab Corp., and his wife Joyce in 1996. Today, the foundation is a grant-making organization intent on spending down at least $300 million of the Foundation’s assets over the next ten years, targeting three areas of focus, with one of three efforts targeting holistic solutions to prepare low-income youth for the rigors of education, career, and family.
For more information regarding this press release, please contact Julie Linder, Communications Coordinator, by calling (573) 268-0639 or emailing jlinder@bhgh.org.