Hands for Hope STEAM Educational Afterschool Programs

K-12 STEAM education

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Underserved youth and families experience social and educational barriers that hinder their progress towards opportunities for personal economic growth and academic advancement. H4H facilitates systemic change to support a population of students that experience low-income households that witness the achievement gap first hand. H4H provides trauma-informed care to create interpersonal relationships to allow our participants to develop and explore opportunities in a safe learning environment. At a grass roots level, H4H seeks to effect change with positive role models where shared experiences are a foundation for nurturing trust to promote healing and personal development. We seek to create access and in-person opportunities where there were once barriers for education. Increasing the ratio of students that complete school and pursue socially-based careers will have a far reaching impact to our community at large. We create opportunities for professionals to pay it forward to our youth.

Our Academic After School Programs and Summer Camp offer practical and applicable knowledge and step-by-step tools to educate and unlock specific potential to explore a future with increased opportunities. Shared life experience singles out H4H’s leadership: Instructors and volunteers are people of color that our youth and families identify with. Students see themselves reflected in the programs, and are offered insight and hope by professionals in music, arts, food, finance, etc. to fuel innovation for the population we serve. H4H provides a FREE after-school program provides access and removes barriers for our youth affording an equal opportunity to succeed in any field they wish to pursue. Our holistic approach is on the whole family focused on the parent and child’s opportunity to rise above their impoverished situation and thrive. As one young participant said during an End-of-Year Showcase, in referring to becoming a doctor, “I didn’t know someone like me could work in that field.” Meeting a doctor of color inspired a new dream in this student. This is only one example of our youth and teens experiencing first-hand exposure with community leaders that nurtures their dreams of the future with the investment of community-driven adults. By having restauranteurs, muralists, professional musicians, financial planners and doctors mentor our youth programs, we create a clear pathway and access to opportunities that once seemed out of reach to our youth.

Imagine a world of possibilities opening up for our youth with workshops lead by people that have risked and succeeded at achieving their dreams, and who are willing to share how they did it!
L.A. sets the stage to leverage relationships between our diverse population of professionals working in a myriad of industries here. Underserved youth need the life stories of working professionals. We provide the unique opportunity for not just a window, but a doorway, to lead to future opportunities for the youth we serve.
Statistically, it is proven that communities with educationally enhanced after-school programs to all youth and teens have a lower dropout rate, lower crime rate, reduced drug abuse community wide. They witness a 40% improvement in reading and math, reduced obesity among youth and teens, improved classroom behavior, increased school attendance, increased academic aspirations among youth and teens, and an increase in business productivity nationally by $300 billion annually.

The overall program impact that Hands4Hope LA has provided is that more than 1,000 city youth attended our academic after-school and summer programs. This foundation of a safe place to build self-esteem, develop supportive relationships through academic and creative endeavors, win countless scholarships, build and attain career dreams, and offer their talents back to their community. Our participants have achieved a significant improvement of 98% graduation rate over the past 24 years, and more than 75% have gone on to receive college degrees and technical certifications. Pursuing the career path of their choice comes with the platform of our educational program model fostered by working professionals.