The African Methodist Episcopal Campus Ministry is giving back to the Buffalo community this semester by giving less fortunate children a chance to better their education through Project HOPE.
Project HOPE - which stands for Helping Our People Excel - exists to "construct bridges of hope by effectively mentoring one life at a time," according to the group's mission statement.
Reverend Pedro Castro, Jr., founder of Project HOPE, said 12,000 students were enrolled in failing public schools in the Buffalo area last year, and only 5 percent were receiving the academic assistance they needed.
Castro said that's exactly why he and the Cora P. Maloney College teamed up to open internship slots for university students to help tutor children, from grades four through 12. Currently, there are 29 UB students who tutor students from Hamlin Park School and The Community School.
"We encourage UB students to share their story of how they got to college and what they have to do in order to do well. It becomes a testimony so children can see that even though their situations may be bleak, there is hope," said Castro, a campus minister for the Grace Community AME Church. "It serves as a great tool to keep kids focused, so that they don't fall through the cracks and make mistakes so damaging that they don't recover."
There are many factors that contribute to the problems students face while trying to be successful in school, but Castro said some of these problems are related to high unemployment rates, drug abuse, violence and domestic violence, and administrative changes in the school system.
This past spring marked the beginning of the project with an after-school mentoring program, which involved 12 inner city children. This was the pilot, but it resulted in an encouraging increase of the students' grade point averages by six points on average, Castro said.
Due to its success, the program was repeated over the summer, this time with 32 students over a seven-week period. The students were tutored in subjects including math, English and writing, and in addition to these basic academic skills, the project also aims to improve youth life skills.
Castro said they are also teaching two classes that are intended to help kids understand the workings of the world. The first, "Real World," is designed to help the students understand their social rights. In addition, they also go over resume writing and skills to prepare for employment. A course called Bridge Builders is also taught to help students learn about positive relationship building.
"It helps the kids to learn conflict resolution, and helps the kids to understand the dangers involved in drug use and drug sales, gangs, violence, and it teaches to establish positive relationships with significant others to keep clear of hazards," Castro said.
The fall session of Project HOPE is scheduled to begin on Oct. 12. According to Castro, there are currently 32 students enrolled for the fall who re-enrolled after the summer program.
Greg Kelly, the executive director for Project HOPE and 2004 UB graduate, said it's because of programs like HOPE that he is where he is today.
"I think it's great because when I was in school, people helped me," Kelly said. "They helped me to get to college and to be in the situation that I am now, so I am just trying to do the same to help others."
