Hope High group collects ‘Dollars for Scholars’

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In 2011, a group of Hope High School alumni founded a scholarship fund to help Hope students pursue higher education. As of today, close to 500 Hope High alumni and friends have donated

Hope High School was founded in 1898 on Providence’s East Side. Its current building was completed in 1936, when it was a neighborhood school. Today, Hope High is a citywide school with more than 800 students, including many from around the world.

To date, 54 students have received scholarships totaling $152,000 from the Hope High Dollars for Scholars program. Some are the first in their families to attend college. The alumni and friends who donate to the fund say they want to “pay it forward” to the new generation of Hope High graduates.

“Hope High is in my DNA,” said donor Rosalind Schwartz Hill. “I am a Hope graduate [Class of ’57]. My father, uncles, and cousins attended Hope – we all treasure our Hope years.”

The idea for the scholarships, which are awarded each spring, came from Jane Rosenbloom Bermont, Class of 1965.

“Winning a scholarship creates a special kind of magic,” she said. “The financial benefit is obvious – and greatly appreciated. The magic comes in the form of honoring a scholar’s accomplishments. Sending a scholar to college with confidence is truly magical.”

Says Hope Alperin Hirsch,  ’63, “My husband and I both believe the way to change a person’s life is through education, and being able to support the Hope scholars enriches our lives.

The program is administered by a volunteer board and is part of the nationwide nonprofit Scholarship America organization, which supports community programs like the one at Hope High.

Last May, 12 students received $52,000 in scholarships. The nonprofit is currently raising funds for the 2018 scholarships, according to Andrea Mattia, communications chair. For more information, email Mattia at andreamattia@gmail.com or call her at 401-602-1882. The scholarship program’s website is hopehigh.dollarsforscholars.org.

Hope High School