Organized in 1988 initially as a community outreach committee, The Hope Chest Scholarship Foundation (the “Foundation”) originally serviced the greater Morris County area by providing financial support to high school seniors and service organizations benefiting youths. In 2000, the Foundation broadened its scope beyond Morris County to encompass the entire state of New Jersey, and shifted its focus to providing need-based scholarships to minority students who are legal residents of New Jersey and matriculating full-time at a post-secondary educational institution. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded over $1,000,000 in scholarships to students from the following New Jersey counties: Bergen; Burlington; Camden; Essex; Gloucester; Hudson; Mercer; Middlesex; Morris; Passaic; Somerset; Sussex; and Union. The Foundation continues its efforts to service students in all of New Jersey’s counties. Representative community, public, and private colleges and universities from which Hope Chest scholars have earned degrees include: Boston University; County College of Morris; Hampton University; Harvard University; Howard University, Morehouse College, New York University; Princeton University; Stanford University, Syracuse University and Rutgers University. The last five classes of first-time recipients have maintained a grade point average of at least 3.2 and have pursued majors in various fields of study ranging from biology, business administration, economics, engineering, finance, and international business to journalism, pharmacy, political science, and psychology. Many Hope Chest scholars are now professionals with major employers such as AT&T, Bloomberg Finance L.P., Deloitte & Touche, Morristown Memorial Hospital, State Farm Insurance Companies, and Weinstein Publishing Co., or graduate students at schools such as Boston College and Indiana University-Law. In 2008, the Foundation launched its LTD ProgramTM. “LTD” is an acronym for leadership training and development. Recognizing the challenges many students face in securing internships that are applicable to their majors, advance their career aspirations, and offer remuneration, the Foundation created the LTD ProgramTM to help develop and enhance Hope Chest scholars’ professionalism and job-readiness skills. Specifically, through mentoring and workshops facilitated by seasoned business professionals and consultants, the LTD ProgramTM focuses on instruction to improve business writing skills, public speaking skills, general office decorum, and personal appearance and presentation. The LTD ProgramTM satisfies the needs of employers seeking to recruit a diverse pool of entry level, talented professionals while providing Hope Chest scholars access to relevant work experience and additional income to finance their education.
