About Boys Hope Girls Hope
of San Francisco
One of 16 affiliates across the United States and Latin America, Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco helps academically motivated high school students rise above disadvantaged backgrounds and become college-educated, career-ready, community-minded leaders.
Our goal is to graduate young people who are physically, emotionally and academically prepared for post-secondary education and a productive life, breaking the cycle of poverty. BHGH of San Francisco utilizes the following elements to achieve our mission:
- Academic excellence
- Service and community engagement
- Family-like settings to cultivate youth empowerment
- Long-term and comprehensive programming
- Faith-based values
- Voluntary participant commitment
Boys Hope Girls Hope firmly believes that children have the power to overcome adversity, realize their potential, and help transform our world. Children create these successes when we remove obstacles, support and believe in them, and provide environments and opportunities that build on their strengths.
"Ever since I joined Hope Academy, my social skills and networking skills have improved.”
Michelle
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:
• Respecting, serving and engaging people from all faith and non-faith traditions
• Focusing on those most in need of our services
• Fostering spirituality and an active spiritual 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 self-selection 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
Since 2000, Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco has been helping scholars rise up from disadvantaged backgrounds and strive for more. Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco serves youth who want to go to college and create successful futures for themselves. Scholars have joined the program to receive support on their journey to college and beyond. They seek the academic resources, extracurricular opportunities, and mentor relationships Boys Hope Girls Hope provides.
BHGH of San Francisco History
Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco Bay Area, an affiliate of Boys Hope Girls Hope International follows the Boys Hope Girls Hope model while operating as a separate 501(c)(3) organization. As such, Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco is responsible for its own fundraising, program management, and community outreach. Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco Bay Area is governed by a Board of Directors that reflects the social, cultural and spiritual diversity of the San Francisco Bay Area.
1999
Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco Established
2009
Began Serving Girls
After ten years of serving boys, Boys Hope Girls Hope Of San Francisco was thrilled to add girls as scholars.
2011
Academy Opening
Boys Hope Girls Hope’s first Academy program served a cohort of 10 girls.
2012
First girl to go to college
Our first female collegian received a full ride scholarship and later graduated from Vassar in 2016.
2014
First College Graduate
Leadership
The Boys Hope Girls Hope of San Francisco 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.
Anjana Utarid
Executive Director
Dennis Bradley
Board Chair
Perry lm
Director of Programs, BHGHSF & Alumni Engagement Specialist, BHGH Network
Kevin Ugalde
Scholar Success Manager
Rayburn Tang
Scholar Support Specialist
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CHAIR
Dennis Bradley
Director, Digital Marketing Analytics
Charles Schwab
MEMBERS
Linda Chandler
Senior Vice President, Information Technology Group
Bank of the West
Mari Corella
Ecommerce Director
Kendo
Michelle Lewis
Director
White Oak Capital Advisors
Holly Lind
Area Vice President
World Wide Technology
Nancy Norris
Digital Marketing & Product Strategy Consultant
TalkingPoints
Kristin Ostby de Barillas
President and CEO
Boys Hope Girls Hope
Karl Thomsen
CEO
Infuse
Joshua Wykes
Managing Director
Deloitte & Touche, LLP
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 that 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.