Boys Hope Girls Hope

Boys Hope Girls Hope received a $7500 grant of unrestricted funds to be allocated towards its Guatemalan arm Esperanza Juvenil. In 2016, the West Foundation supported the highly successful Road to Excellence program which connects 170 youth with college, career, and life skills programming. High school completion rates and college entrance rates for this program remain at the remarkable level of 100%, while Esperanza Juvenil college scholars retain 94% continued enrollment. This is a singular achievement in a country home to more than 1.6 million out of school youth and where middle school completion rates are less than 40%. With significant fundraising and strategic leadership from its Guatemalan board, Esperanza Juvenil also recently purchased a second site in Guatemala City. This site expansion will eventually allow the organization to double the number of students served in Guatemala with a special focus on reaching more students from rural communities.