Chicago HOPES for Kids

AT NO COST TO YOU, GET FUNDING FOR Chicago HOPES for Kids WHEN YOU: Buy a Home / Sell a Home / Lease Commercial Property

Buying, Selling and Leasing Can Help Provide Educational Support to Children in Chicago Homeless Shelters 

Chicago HOPES for Kids (CHFK) is dedicated to providing educational resources to children in Chicago’s homeless shelters. As a member of Investing In Communities®, CHFK can receive free funding through brokered real estate transactions, including residential sales and purchases and commercial leases. Help provide opportunities to children in Chicago’s homeless shelters by using IIC to be referred to a broker of your choice. At no cost to you, your real estate transaction can provide tutoring, safe educational environments and a better tomorrow for some of the country’s most underserved children.

CHFK began in 2006 as an initiative of the Chicago Public Schools Homeless Education Program (HEP). What worked well for four years didn’t end up making the budget for Chicago Public Schools in 2010, so Patricia Rivera,  HEP’s manager at that time, and volunteers transitioned the organization into a nonprofit. For four days each week in ten shelters, homeless children  benefit from educational resources and from the vital human attention they need to develop into great students. 

High Hopes for Kids

From its early days, CHFK  identified homeless shelters in Chicago as some of the most under-resourced places for the development of children’s education. That’s why it  builds high hopes for kids in these shelters through various services, including: 

• Literacy Mentors – one-on-one sessions with middle school students to help develop their literacy skills and academic confidence;
• Parent Programs – each shelter is provided programs based on the families’ needs at that location, including educational seminars and parent-child bonding workshops; and 
• Summer Enrichment  Program  – during  the summer, when school is not usually in session, CHFK helps students use this time to catch up on vital educational skills such as reading, writing and classroom practices.

HOPES After School

A flagship service of CHFK is HOPES After School. This program provides three main services to children in homeless shelters after school:

• Homework Help – these one-on-one and small group sessions help students develop positive homework habits and also help them learn the concepts and topics being taught during the day at school;
• Literacy Support – beginning on the first day of the school year the reading level of students is assessed, in order to help plan the support needed for each child. Whether it’s a fun game, worksheets, or group reading, students work with CHFK staff and volunteers to improve their literacy over the course of the school year; and 
• Cultural Enrichment – everyday during HOPES After School, students participate in an activity designed to enhance their exposure to art, science, creative writing, dance and movement, cooking, and more.

Turn Real Estate Transactions Into A Better Education for Youth in Chicago’s Homeless Shelters

At no cost, anyone planning the purchase or sale of a home and companies planning to lease any type of commercial space can turn their brokered real estate transactions into free funding for Chicago HOPES for Kids. The purchase or sale of a $300,000 home, for example, yields $1,300 in funding for HOPES After School, and the other programs of  CHFK. Utilize IIC’s platform to  find agents that are a good fit for the specifics of your desired transaction.  Or use IIC to be referred to an agent that you’re already considering. Ready to give back, at no cost?