NBC 24: HOPE Toledo aids over 270 students and 3 graduating Scott High School classes in 3 years
TOLEDO, Ohio — HOPE Toledo released their first annual report to update people on the progress of the organization over their three years of financially aiding students.
The organization started by offering free college to the Scott High School class of 2020 and has expanded to roughly 270 students in the area since.
"I always wanted to go to college but this was a lifetime opportunity and I felt like I should take advantage of it and I didn't want to just waste it," said one of Hope Toledo’s beneficiaries James Gilbert-Parks.
Gilbert-Parks graduated from Scott High School in 2020 and is now a junior at Lourdes University.
He is one of several students whose college is fully covered by HOPE Toledo relieving his family from expensive tuition bills.
"As I got older, I realized I did not want to put the strain of college payments onto my mom," said Gilbert-Parks, who is majoring is Business Administration. "I would like to be a success story and actually use this opportunity to get a nice job, open up my own business."
A Northwestern University study found a 70% increase in Scott High School students are attending college, simply by providing them the funds to do so.
Those class of 2020 students who went for associate degrees are becoming the first from the program to enter the workforce.
"We think our kids are already proving that they have the mettle to do this work," said Hope Toledo President/CEO Rev. John C. Jones. "They just need the support, the biggest one of which is to get over the hurdle of cost."
Jones is excited to see what all of their students do with their degrees.
"It's not enough to get them to school and through school, we now have got to make sure they are employable and able to go to work and build our economy."
The organization's team decided last year that they wanted to help more than just Scott High School graduates.
They now they help younger kids enter and learn in several preschools, expanding to 20 different schools across the Toledo area.
"On our pre-K side, we started with 10 partner providers serving about 200 kids and now we're up to 20 providers. We will plan to serve 300 students this year."
Jones also said that HOPE Toledo is still raising money and hopes to make those expansions happen soon.