HYPE  |  Helping Young People Excel

Are You Aware?

For every youth kept out of the juvenile justice system, Tampa saves over $200 per day and over $70,000 per year.

There are approximately 150 gangs currently identified in Hillsborough County each with the potential to endanger public safety along with the safety of their members. 

What’s being done?

A $50,000 grant from the unrestricted Community Fund has been awarded to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay for the HYPE (Helping Young People Excel) program.  This program provides effective prevention alternatives for youth who are the most likely targets of gang recruitment by providing those same youth with positive out-of-school time activities and youth development programs. 

HYPE was underway in the West Tampa, Belmont Heights, and Jackson Springs clubs, and this grant provided funding to implement the program in the Plant City and Sulphur Springs clubs. 

Does it do any good?

Outcomes from the HYPE program include:

• 87% of participants showed increased academic competencies based on pre-and post-test data

• 81% missed less than 10 days of school

• 86% were on grade level and progressed to the next grade level

• 98% had no reported involvement with a gang or the juvenile justice system.

Contact Ann Berg, Vice President of Grants at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay (813.282.1975 or aberg@cftampabay.org) if you’d like more information or want to be part of the solution.



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