We are excited to announce our 1st 2022 Fall Grant Recipient!
Thanks to our generous Legacy Giving Circle donor community, Love Does is receiving a $32,000 grant towards their San Quentin Educational Scholarship Program!
Initiative Description: We are seeking funding for college tuition to expand our program for 4 additional inmates of San Quentin Prison towards a paper based college degree program in 2023. $32,000 will cover the cost of 4 inmates for 1 year. The mission of the Love Does Educational Scholarship Program (LDESP) seeks to diminish the financial burden on inmates desiring an undergraduate or postgraduate degree. We strive to empower inmates to continue their educational and academic dreams, so in the future they can use their education to make a difference inside or outside the prison walls. We believe education provides a foundation for a better future, especially those who have spent the majority of their lives incarcerated. All applicants must have completed the Dream Big program, taught and led by the founder of Love Does, Bob Goff. Applications are reviewed and selected through a subjective and objective process.
Initiative Impact: In the late summer of 2022, we awarded 4 inmates in our inaugural class of San Quentin prison with a scholarship. All of the applicants expressed that they felt undeserving and even unworthy to be awarded any kind of scholarship to pursue their academic goals, due to the guilt of their past decisions and actions. We have found that this program not only provides financial help, but also rebuilds the inner dignity of each individual applying. Love Does believes every human being deserves to understand their inherent worth and dignity regardless of previous actions made in the past. The inmates are also given the dignity of choice to decide which program they would like to apply to and what degree they seek to earn.
Our hope for the scholarship program is that inmates would walk away not only with a college degree, but also the reminder that they are capable individuals, who regardless of their past mistakes, can make a difference in the world inside and outside the prison walls. After an inmate obtains their degree our team will sit and discuss with them how this education scholarship has changed their lives and their action steps for their future. The scholarship they are awarded, is a key, giving them access to open the door of endless opportunities, redeeming all the mistakes that were made in the past.
Initiative Sustainability: The Scholarship program will cover the expenses of the inmate’s tuition towards their degree of choice. Scholarships will be awarded on an annual basis, accessible to all who have participated in the Dream Big Course. Love Does’ project manager will pay each university on the behalf of scholarship recipients.
