About Boys Hope Girls Hope of New Orleans
- Academic excellence
- Service and community engagement
- Family-like settings to cultivate youth empowerment
- Long-term and comprehensive programming
- Faith-based values
- Voluntary participant commitment
"From the first day that I stepped into the house, BHGH told me I was going to do great things. They weren't wrong."
Edward, 2015 BHGH and Rummel Graduate
Our Mission
To nurture and guide motivated young people in need to become well-educated, career-ready men and women for others.
Our Vision
Our vision is that our scholars reach their full potential and become healthy, productive life-long learners who:
Adapt to an ever-changing world | Thrive in the face of obstacles | Generate a positive ripple effect in their families, work places, and communities
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ACADEMIC FOCUS
We believe in the transformative power of education to develop lifelong learners using:
• Strengths-based, positive youth development approaches
• Practical preparation for careers to sustain one’s self and family
• Exposure to diverse opportunities that enrich one’s life and enhance learning
• Scholarship incentives encouraging and maximizing self-motivated learning -
SERVICE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
We believe in the Jesuit-inspired, values-centered hallmark of building “persons for others” by:
• Developing character through service learning activities related to social justice and civic responsibility
• Educating those at every level of our organization in cultural competence
• Seeking collaborative partnerships to enhance our mission -
FAMILY-LIKE SETTINGS TO CREATE A SENSE OF BELONGING
We believe youth derive their energy and sustenance from exposure to nurturing environments that provide:
• Inclusion in a loving community that meets youth where they are but sets high expectations
• A feeling of “being home,” with residential care as needed
• Strong and supportive developmental relationships with adult mentors and peers
• Stability, structure, and individualized guidance in small settings
• Modeling of positive values -
LONG-TERM AND COMPREHENSIVE COMMITMENT
We believe an enduring relationship with youth holds the most promise for attaining positive outcomes by:
• Intervening early to support scholars from adolescence through college graduation and beyond
• Offering a holistic spectrum of programming that evolves with the age and needs of youth
• Providing ample opportunities for youth to develop social and emotional learning skills -
FAITH-BASED VALUES
We believe that a loving God cares about the life of every individual and we manifest this belief by:
• Focusing on those most in need of our services
• Respecting, serving and engaging people from all faith traditions
• Fostering spirituality and an active faith life as essential elements of healthy personal development
• Helping youth develop a moral compass based on universal principles -
VOLUNTARY PARTICIPANT COMMITMENT
We believe in the motivational power of selfselection into the BHGH program because:
• Parents and Scholars share a vision for a better future
• Scholars elect to invest in themselves and are empowered to join
• Families value and trust in a working partnership with BHGH
• BHGH serves bright, capable young people who are motivated to overcome obstacles to reach their potential
Our Local Impact
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans History
1977
Father Paul Sheridan, SJ establishes the first Boys Hope Girls Hope program in St. Louis, MO.
1980
New Orleans is the third U.S. city after St. Louis, MO and Cincinnati, OH to establish a Boys Hope program in partnership with a Jesuit High School for driven young men in need. The program was first called “The Jesuit Program for Living and Learning”
1984
Boys Hope New Orleans opens a second home for young men near Jesuit high school.
1999
A new Boys Hope home is constructed to replace the original home, which serves as the Boys Hope home today.
2002
New Orleans converts one of the Boys Hope houses into the first Girls Hope home in partnership with St. Mary’s Dominican High School for young women in need.
2005
Hurricane Katrina completely destroys the Girls Hope home and offices, and significantly damages the Boys Hope home.
2007
Post-Katrina Boys Hope home renovations are completed, and Boys Hope scholars move back home just in time to celebrate Mardi Gras in Mid-City!
2010
Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans celebrates 30 years of HOPE!
Leadership
The Boys Hope Girls Hope of Greater New Orleans Board of Directors and staff leadership collaborate to ensure mission fidelity, financial stewardship and transparency. This team of professionals is committed to continuous learning, effective programming and improvement through impact evaluation and innovation.
Chuck Roth
Executive Director
Cydne Shipley
Development Director
Nathan Stephens
Marketing and Community Outreach Associate
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jason Maurin, Chair
CAT Louisiana
Ashley Solomon, Secretary
Jefferson Parish Attorney's Office
Shelley Mayer, Treasurer
Ernst and Young
Tim Cragin,
Entergy Corporation
Lewis J. Derbes, Jr., CPA,
Bernhard
Sally T. Duplantier,
Community Volunteer
John C. "Sandy" Duplantier, Esq.,
Festivious Gourmet
Jessica A. Dwyer, M.Ed.,
St. Francis Xavier Catholic School
Brett P. Fenasci, Esq.,
Kean Miller LLP
Rick Q. Flick,
Banner Chevrolet Banner Ford
Roy A. Glapion,
The Beta Group
Stephen Hanemann,
Kean Miller LLP
John Hummel,
Shell Oil (Retired)
Christopher M. Kenny,
Gulf Point Advisors
Brandon Long,
Federal Judge, Eastern District of Louisiana
Monique Christophe McConduit,
Andrew Jackson Middle School
Stanton Murray,
Murray Yacht Sales
Charles Rice,
Southern University Law School
Brittany Whitsell,
New Orleans Saints and Pelicans
Anthony Williams,
Entergy Services, LLC
EX-OFFICIO
Rev. John Brown, S.J.
Thomas Moran
Father Mark Thibodeaux, S.J.
HONORARY BOARD COUNCIL
Most Rev. Greg Aymond
Patricia W. Cox
Patrick J. Browne, Esq.
John J. Dardis
Karen DeBlieux
Bonnie W. Eades
Jack V. Eumont
Annette M. Francingues
Sandra T. Henry
Edward J. Koehl, Jr., Esq.,
Marianne K. Koehl, Esq.
Thomas M. Kitchen
Hon. Salvadore T. Mule
Ron H. Patron
Michael H. Rodrigue
George F. Sins, Jr.
Gordon Stevens
Lloyd A. Tate, C.P.A.
Mignhon Tourne'
Steven W. Usdin, Esq.
John E. Unsworth, Jr.
Edward C. Vocke, III
Errol G. Williams
The Need We Address
Prior to joining our program, our scholars’ circumstances include environmental barriers that make it difficult to concentrate on achieving their goals. The relationship between educational failure and poverty creates a vicious cycle that affects too many children in our communities and negatively impacts our entire society.
- Twenty-one percent of children in the US live in poverty (Census Bureau, 2014)
- Children born into poverty are six times more likely to drop out of school (Cities in Crisis, 2008).
- The longer a child lives in poverty, the lower their overall level of academic achievement (Guo and Harris, 2000).
- Children from families in the highest income quartile are 8 times as likely to earn a college degree than those from the lowest income quartile (Pell Institute and Penn Ahead, 2015).
- In 1980, college graduates earned 29% more than those without. By 2007, that gap grew to 66% (Baum & Ma, 2007).
- The costs to United States society are significant in terms of economic productivity, tax revenue, health care over-utilization, parental attention to children’s educational development, civic engagement, and volunteerism (Baum & Ma, 2007).
- According to CEOs for Cities, every one percentage point increase in adult four-year college degree attainment adds an additional $763 to per capita income per year (One Student at a Time, 2013).
- Cohen and Piquero (2009) monetized the cost to society over the course of a “negative outcome” child’s lifetime as follows: High School Dropout = $390,000 - $580,000, Plus Heavy Drug User = $846,000 – $1.1 Million, Plus Career Criminal = $3.2 - $5.8 Million.