HarperCollins Christian Publishing Grant Supports Tutoring for over 80 Elementary Students

We are so excited to announce that we have received a $25,000 grant from HarperCollins Christian Publishing to support our elementary student tutoring program. Thank you to our generous friends at HarperCollins! Since 2010, our tutoring program has steadily grown to provide more than 100 hours of free tutoring each week by 10 certified teachers to 80 students. With this support, we will be able to continue investing in students in our neighborhood to help them succeed in school.

“It’s a joy and a privilege to have HarperCollins Christian Publishing come alongside this tutoring initiative once again,” shared our Executive Director Kurtis Kaechele. “They have been a wonderful partner over the past six years, and their support empowers the students in this neighborhood to overcome barriers and succeed in school.”

During the COVID-19 stay-at-home mandate, we have sent virtual tutoring resources to our students and provided printed versions to families that utilize their Food Center drive-thru to receive supplemental groceries. This grant will also support our summer soccer & reading camp in addition to the NEW (Nutrition, Education & Wellness) program for diabetic clients.

“Year after year, HarperCollins Christian Publishing continues to be in awe of what Streams of Hope can accomplish for the Kentwood community, and greater Grand Rapids. Not only have we built a relationship through monetary investment, but with their leadership, staff, and the children involved in their tutoring program,” said Casey Harrell, senior director of Corporate Communications at HarperCollins Christian Publishing. “We are excited to see what the future holds for this program.”

The combined population of three public elementary schools, each less than half a mile from their campus, is over 90-percent eligible for federal assistance.

“Educational success is a significant factor for reducing poverty, and our prayer is that by impacting students we would see our neighborhood transformed for the better,” said Kaechele. “In 2018, 91 percent of students being tutored in reading achieved one grade level or more of growth. During the same period, 84 percent of math students raised their assessment scores.”

To learn more about tutoring and other programs that Streams of Hope offers, click here.