Youth Development

Focus: HOPE drives successful youth development through out of school time and summer programming, supporting community youth to personal achievement through concentration on academic achievement, leadership development, personal development, community involvement, regional relations, and cultural competence/diversity training.

Excel Photography Program

Excel Photography Program engages Detroit elementary and middle-school students in an after-school, project-based photography and leadership development curriculum coupled with exciting field trips throughout southeastern Michigan such as the Historic Eastern Market, Cranbrook Educational Campus, Detroit Institute of Arts, Historic Trinity Church, Belle Isle, downtown Royal Oak, Mexican Town, College for Creative Studies, Yates Cider Mill, U of M Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Greenfield Village, The Heidelberg Project, and more.

This semester long program provides instruction in the technical and aesthetic aspects of 35mm digital photography. Photographic assignments are outcome-based in that students plan and execute their ideas, and evaluate their finished projects through student-led critiques.

Excel also serves as an outlet to elevate success levels of participants. Each student participates in self-development and leadership activities with the goal of cultivating self- confidence, self-esteem, self-discipline, and a heightened interest in lifelong learning.

Requirements:
Resident of Metro Detroit
Current 5th-8th grader
Strong commitment
Reliable form of transportation

Duration:
Fall (October-December)
Tuesdays, 4:30 – 7:00 p.m.

Generation of Promise

Generation of Promise aims to build a community of young leaders who celebrate diversity and are dedicated to the elimination of discrimination in metropolitan Detroit. Generation of Promise provides an opportunity for local youth to engage in leadership development and build regional cooperation.

Generation of Promise conducts a 10-month diversity awareness and relationship building program for an annual class of 60 high school juniors.

Generation of Promise member high schools reflect a wide range of racial, ethnic, religious and socio-economic communities. The communities include Birmingham, Dearborn, Detroit, Grosse Pointe, Southfield and Warren.

Students engage in over 120 hours of program experiences between August and May including a summer orientation retreat. Students are encouraged to challenge stereotypes or misconceptions they hold and work to build relationships across divisions. They are also challenged to refine their leadership skills and are given opportunities to apply those skills in a variety of settings.

Duration:
August – April
Every Second Wednesday of each month;
7:45 am – 3:00 pm (students are excused from school to participate)

Graduation is the first Sunday in May.

Requirements:

Participants of Generation of Promise must be enrolled in one of our partner schools.
Students complete the application as a sophomore and participate in the program during their junior year of high school.
Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA or above.

Thanks to Our Supporters!

The Pitney Bowes Foundation

Listed organizations supported Focus: HOPE during fiscal years 2019-2020 (10/1/2018 – 9/30/2020).
This information was updated as of February 14, 2020.