Upcoming Events
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Holiday Boutique & Luncheon December 3rd Sunset Country Club
Trivia Night February 27, 2016
Golf Tournament
June 28, 2016
Where Hope Lives Open Houses:
Where Hope Lives Open House offers a monthly opportunity to visit our homes, meet our scholars and learn more about the Boys Hope Girls Hope program. Please consider joining us. We love having guests in our homes.
Contact:
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Volunteer Spotlight!
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Andrew Metcalf is both a BHGH Associate Board Member and a volunteer extraordinaire! He is a tutor at the boys' house in History and English, a presenter on essay writing and resume/cover letters at our College Success Seminars, as well as a Scholar Advisor for our newly formed Scholar Council this year!
Andrew's dedication to our mission and our scholars in truly inspiring.
We are so grateful for all of our amazing volunteers and the incredible work they do!
Current Volunteer Needs:
Boys house morning drivers
Academic Time Volunteers
Hope Prep Accountability Group Mentors
Mentors
Math/Science Tutors
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Message from the Director
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Greetings and Salutations One and All! Where to begin? We are well into the school year and have a combined 84 Scholars receiving services through BHGH St. Louis: 12 residential, 11 collegians and 61 at Hope Prep! Thanks to our dedicated donors, volunteers, board members and staff, our scholars are getting the support they need to navigate the educational roads they are on their way to the ultimate goal of getting to and through post-secondary education. Thank you all for your immense contributions!
For those of you who don't already know, construction of our new campus is well under way. The foundations of all three buildings have been poured and framing of walls will begin in the very near future. Although this is great progress, it is also somewhat bittersweet. The realization is setting in that the upcoming holiday seasons will be the last we spend in the homes that have housed so many of our wonderful scholars over the years and been the sites of so many wonderful memories. We are excited about moving into our new homes and very appreciative of the ones that have served us so well. They will be missed.
And finally, as I write this, Jan and her team are putting the finishing touches on preparations for our next Evening of Hope. Since this will be my first time attending this marvelous event, I am both excited and a bit nervous. And since this newsletter will come out after the event, I want to say now how great it was to see you all there. I had a fantastic time and I hope you did too!
Deacon Farrelly
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A "Jazzy" Event
On October 23, nearly 400 guests joined staff and scholars at the Palladium St. Louis to support Boys Hope Girls Hope St. Louis. Emcee Mark Zinn of the Big 550 ignited an excitement in the room that helped exceed lofty goals set for the 20th annual Evening of Hope. A special thank you to Co-Chairs Lisa Flavin, (Emerson) and Rich Plass (Express Scripts) who worked diligently securing generous corporate and personal support for the success of our gala.
| Scholars for both programs were excited to represent BHGH at Evening of Hope. |
BHGH scholars greeted guests, sharing stories and goals they have for themselves, each aspiring to emulate Girls Hope 2005 graduate and guest speaker, Debra Johnson who spoke eloquently and inspired all in the room, ending with a standing ovation. Debra a SLU graduate with a dual degree in Communication and Political Science shared with the guests:
"When I entered Girls Hope the uncertainty of what my future would hold dissipated... college became a reality. The doors opened to education by Girls Hope made it possible for me to serve in my current position as the Communications Director to an Illinois U.S. House Representative. "
Heart of Hope recipient Lisa Flavin and Father Sheridan Reflection of Hope recipient Trudy Bush Valentine, each shared stories of their own commitment to BHGH and the scholars served, encouraging and inspiriting all to learn more about the opportunities to serve BHGH scholars.
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them"
-John F. Kennedy
Lisa and Trudy you are both wonderful examples of these words.
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Fall at Hope Prep
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Hope Prep 8th Graders made a huge impact in a Community Garden.
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Hope Prep is off to a great start this fall, and Scholars have had many skill building opportunities. In September, scholars attended a luncheon on dinning and business etiquette facilitated by Ever Appropriate Etiquette. Also in September, Scholars and Parents attended presentations by NCADA representative Shane Roach. Following his presentation on alcohol and drug abuse and addiction, Shane led scholars and parents in a discussion on youth culture in relation to addiction.
In October, the 8th grade Hope Prep scholars had the opportunity to complete community service hours at the Jewish Community Center's community garden, Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden provides fresh produce for the Jewish Community Center food pantry which is one of the biggest pantries in Missouri. During their time at Garden of Eden scholars were able to harvest over 130 pounds of fresh foods including sweet potatoes, peppers, kale, cabbage, spinach and lettuce.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who donated items to our Hope Prep classroom and reading nook at McCluer South-Berkeley High School. Your contributions have helped make the room a warm and welcoming space for scholars to grow and learn.
Before...
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Collegian Updates
Happy Transfers!
Miguel is currently a Business Marketing major at Missouri State University. He transferred this school year and is very happy with his decision. With a blooming social and study life, he is really finding his place on campus. Miguel has begun his search for an internship opportunity this summer and is researching ways to minimize his debt load.
Briana is currently an Education major at Southeast Missouri State University. She transferred this school year and quickly found her place on campus. Briana is working as a student ambassador and is involved in the 1st-year leadership program. She is thinking about joining some other campus organizations including TRIO.
We are very proud of our collegians!
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Staff Updates from Angela
| Nicole Angieri, Community-Based Program Coordinator |
Nichole Angieri joined our staff in August as the Community-Based Program Coordinator providing services through the Hope Prep program to 61 scholars in grades 8-12 at Berkeley Middle and McCluer South Berkeley High Schools. Nichole holds a master's degree from Fontbonne University and is a certified school counselor for grades K-12. As a professional school counselor, she has extensive training in the areas of building student knowledge of self and others, educational and vocational development, and career planning and exploration.
"My training in counseling has helped me to provide scholars and families with responsive counseling services. As a first generation high school and college graduate, I can identify with students on a personal level , which will enable me to employ my professional expertise in an effective and compassionate way." Nichole looks forward to providing scholars and their parent or advocates with the ability to monitor and manage learning and progress in the areas of academic, career and personal/social development.
| Randy Helm, Boys Hope Residential Counselor | Randall(Randy) Helm is the newest live in residential counselor at the Boys House. A certified teacher, Randy will bring strength to academic study programming. His background experiences include being a lifeguard, swim lesson instructor, and a youth program manager working with children, adolescents, and their families.
"As an undergraduate I worked in a variety of urban, suburban, and charter school settings. During these placements I worked closely with students in grades 7-12. More specifically, I wrote case studies, tutored, and helped plan lessons with the teachers. During my student teaching experience I taught over 100 students and established rapport with the majority of them." Randy prides himself on being skilled at developing relationships and being able to set boundaries while maintaining collegiality with peers. As a counselor, he realizes the importance of developing relationships with scholars to reach their potential.
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Support BHGH
Provide a Meal for the one of the homes. This is a vital help to our residential staff and a wonderful treat for scholars! To sign-up on our Care Calendar, contact Caitlin
for instructions.
Sign up to send a Care Package to a Collegian Here
Connect to us through Amazon Smile here, and select us as your charity of choice. When you make purchases through smile.amazon.com, a portion of the profit will be given to Boys Hope Girls Hope. See site for further details.
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