ScholarCHIPS (For Children of Incarcerated Parents)

ScholarCHIPS (Children of Incarcerated Parents) "The Tassel is Worth the Hassle!" Washington, D.C. Metro Area Our Story: As a junior in high school, excited about social change, Yasmine Arrington became a 2010 Fellow in the LearnServe International Program in Washington, DC. As a participant in the program she was challenged to find a need within her community that she wanted to help solve. At the time, Yasmine and her grandmother were searching for college scholarships, and they discovered that there weren't any scholarships for teens with incarcerated parents. Yasmine proceeded to conduct research on the statistics of youth in the United States with parents in prison and the results were alarming. Today in the U.S. more than 2 million children have a parent in prison. Niacka Carty, also a LearnServe Fellow in 2010, joined Yasmine in promoting the idea to start a scholarship program for this demographic, as she also had had personal experience with the struggles of having a family member in jail. Yasmine gathered together a group of adults in her life that she trusted to help her turn her idea into a reality -- all of them are still on the executive board to this day. To date, ScholarCHIPS has awarded over $80,000 in college scholarships and has touched the lives of 23 scholars. With your support, this number will grow every year! Our Mission: To provide scholarships, mentoring and a support network for high school graduates with parents in prison, who are pursuing a college degree. Awards: BET Black Girls Rock Community Service Award Harris’ Heroes Interview (WJLA) Community Foundation of the National Capital Region’s UnSung Heroes Award Julia West Hamilton League Community Service Award Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Matthew J. Quinn Prize Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScholarCHIPS Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scholarchips Instagram: http://instagram.com/scholarchips