Project Overview
As an ambitious high-school junior preparing for college, Yasmine Arrington found no financial aid programs for students like her, with a father in prison since she was a toddler. Her initiative, ScholarCHIPS, offers financial support, mentoring, and group workshops to recipients in the Washington, D.C. area who are among the millions of children in the United States with incarcerated parents. To address the financial and mental-health impacts upon these children, ScholarCHIPS seeks not simply to provide tuition, but a full-fledged support network, something Arrington knew was essential to her success. Over the past five years, ScholarCHIPS has awarded more than $150,000 to support scholars, but more importantly, has evolved the scope of the program in response to student needs. To address an “experience gap” among disadvantaged students, for example, the program includes an emerging culture component using theater and art to boost student achievement. Other workshops offer critical skills in time management, study habits, and sexual health. To further ease the path through college, students receive a scholarship and book award each year without having to reapply, as long as they maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA. Through its tailored approach to mentorship, ScholarCHIPS ultimately seeks to tackle the most sobering statistic concerning children of incarcerated parents—70 percent will one day be imprisoned themselves—by breaking the cycle of intergenerational incarceration.
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