The 2007 Drive: US Empowered
In 2007, our chapters focused supporting Urban Students Empowered (US Empowered), a non-profit organization dedicated to opening higher education opportunities to at-risk teenagers in urban communities. US Empowered was founded on the belief that all children can obtain a college degree if given the resources, support and network necessary to succeed.
The US Empowered Foundation provides fellowships to highly motivated students in low-income schools in Chicago, and is aiming to expand nationally in the coming years. Each fellow receives one-one-one mentoring, Kaplan ACT preparation, brand new laptops, college visits, and private college counseling services with financial aid and scholarship support. Currently, the GPAs of the fellows who have gone the program have increased from 2.95 to 3.41 in just two years with the program. 100% have been admitted into four-year universities, with 71% enrolling at their top choice schools. In addition, all of these fellows have entered college with 100% scholarship / financial aid, and all of them are still in college. Once the fellows matriculate, US Empowered provides the financial, programmatic, and psychological support to ensure the students are ready to take on any and all challenges that college-life presents.
The 2006 Drive: Jumpstart
 The initial part of the 2006 drive contributed funds to purchasing books in support of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign. This campaign was designed to set the world record for the largest shared reading experience ever by encouraging children and adults to read The Little Engine That Could together on August 24, 2006. Each of the 500 books donated by Hopscotch reached a Jumpstart child in need, and raised $5,000 to support Jumpstart’s expansion across the United States.
Following Read for the Record, Hopscotch directed its efforts to donate $25,000 to cover Jumpstart's costs to recruit and train an entire Jumpstart team, a group of 10 corps members and 1 team leader. Each team works for one academic year in service with a local preschool in a low-income community. Within the team, each Corps member is paired one-to-one with a child at risk of failing in school. Through twice-weekly Jumpstart sessions, they work together to build the vital literacy, social, and emotional skills the child needs to thrive. The Team Leader, usually a 2nd-year Corps member, is not paired with a child so that he or she may work with the team to plan and execute effective sessions, facilitate team meetings, and build team spirit and leadership among Corps members.
The 2005 Drive: Charfassion Orphanage
 2005 efforts benefited the construction of the Charfassion (car-FA-shun) Orphanage which sits on five acres of land in Bhola Island, Bangladesh. The physical structure of the orphanage had been deemed unsafe for its occupants which includes 100 young orphans and several staff members.
A brand new structure for the Charfassion Orphanage was designed and approved. The desperately needed reconstruction will provide these Bangladeshi orphans with a safe, sturdy home where they can flourish as healthy and successful members of society. The facility operates on a $26,000/year budget which includes room, board, and educational costs. Before breaking ground and beginning the enhancement to the orphanage's land, the orphanage needed $230,000 to supplement the $70,000 raised to date.
Bangladesh does not have resources, nor the philanthropic ethos of the United States. Thus, it is critical that the Hopscotch Network's Charfassion Orphanage Project continue to raise funds in the United States. The focus of the Hopscotch Network's 2005 Drive was to help The Charfassion Orphanage Project meet its goal of breaking ground in October of 2007. Over the course of the drive, we raised $30,000 nationally.
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