Mission

Hope Ignites nurtures and guides motivated young people in need to become well-educated, career-ready people for others through supportive relationships, transformative experiences, and reflection opportunities from middle school through college and career launch. Across our network of affiliates in the United States and Latin America, we are a bridge to education and opportunity that changes life trajectories. Youth who join our program face poverty, racism, community violence, trauma, and healthcare and food insecurity. They also lack access to quality education, mentors, and skill-building activities available to high-income peers. At Hope Ignites, they overcome these obstacles through two pathways: Academy, which provides year-round, out-of-school time programming and services to prepare them for life, college, and careers, and Residential, which offers the addition of a safe and structured home and round-the-clock care. This support continues through post-secondary education and workforce entry. Throughout this experience, social justice projects help shape their identity as persons for others. They see themselves in the diversity of program leadership and alumni who serve on Hope Ignites boards and teams. As they develop caring relationships with adults and peers, they set goals, work hard, and gain confidence in how they can be part of the change needed in their communities. As Michallé, an alumna who is now a grade school principal in her home community, says, “I chose [Hope Ignites] because, instead of becoming a product of my environment, I wanted to come back and be an inspiration.”