By Sean Copeland, Contributing Writer
Boys Hope Girls Hope Detroit is one of the city’s lesser-known gems that continues to serve the community in powerful and meaningful ways. This year, the organization celebrated 40 years of service and dedication to the city and surrounding metro area. Rebecca Limbaugh, who has been with the organization for many years, serves as the Executive Director and is passionate about her work. When speaking about the organization, Limbaugh exudes passion and conviction. “My role is to make sure that I’m building a curriculum so that the youth in the city of Detroit have the best possible services to make sure that they can advance through life. We have very capable and motivated youth in the city of Detroit, and a lot of times, they come from underserved communities. What we do is to make sure to find the brightest and best of the youth in the city.” BHGH Detroit offers several programs and services. There is a residential program for girls that provides wraparound services, and it is currently the only voluntary program in Michigan. The program provides life skills, socioemotional and spiritual enrichment, college prep, and other free services. The program partners with parents and brings in youth from age twelve, who remain until high school graduation. Another program offered is an after-school program where BHGH Detroit partners with three different schools: Detroit Edison Early College of Excellence, Detroit Cristo Rey, and Loyola High School. “We take the ten brightest and best and take them over to our partner Say Detroit Play Center, where they provide community services in a centralized location where we can bring all six of our residential scholars from the residential program and the thirty from our three partner schools into one location and provide a college preparatory curriculum. In that program, we include social justice, mental health, vocational education, post-secondary education, and skilled trades. Whatever it is in life that they want to do to be successful, that’s what we offer them. When they graduate from our residential and academy programs, they move on to our collegiate support program,” Limbaugh explains. In that program, she keeps in touch with students for four years, and the program offers $1800 in scholarships until graduation. The wraparound services are provided in the residential and academic programs, as well as through college. “When you think about the freshman year of college, that is the roughest time for young people. If you don’t have support before you go to college, that is going to be the toughest time. We’re making sure that they’re checking in with us about resources. We provide that for them,” Limbaugh says.
Celebrating 40 Years of Service
Boys Hope Girls Hope has celebrated many achievements along their 40-year journey. They have served over 350 youth since 1984, and 94 percent of BHGH Collegians return for their second year of college, a figure that is 30 percent higher than the national average. Over time, they’ve maintained a 100 percent high school graduation and college acceptance rate while also maintaining a 96 percent college attendance rate. Additionally, they expanded the academy program, with over 58 percent of total Scholar enrollment occurring between 2013 and 2024, and added a Collegian Support Program. To celebrate and acknowledge the organization’s efforts over time, Boys Hope Girls Hope Detroit held its 40th Anniversary Gala on Thursday, November 14, at Durfee Innovation Society. The event celebrated the success of the organization and all of the charity work they’ve accomplished over the years. The event included catering from a variety of local restaurants, including J. Alexander’s, Better Miles, Something Sweet, Mama Mucci’s, and more, with a variety of drinks and desserts.
To begin the presentation of the company’s success stories, Limbaugh introduced a few speakers who gave the history of the organization and its efforts. While listening to the stories, the message was clear: BHGH Detroit has truly made a difference in the community. Alumnus and board member Michael Armstrong spoke highly of the program and how it changed the trajectory of his life. “This program can and has changed lives. They gave us a lot of opportunities. It changed my life and my brother’s life.” Another alumnus, Donnie Thompson, added, “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Boys Hope being that guiding light and providing that solid foundation for me. It’s been monumental in my life and has helped me be the man I am today”. While both men remarked on how the program offered them an opportunity, they both agreed that they had to do the work themselves to better themselves. Another alumnus and board member, Maricruz Zamora, added, “BHGH has been key to my success and the success of many other students. They have really provided the resources, from what to do when you’re in college to how to get a tutor and stay on track with grades to a scholarship that really helped me make it through college. Also, they helped me with feeling a sense of community with others that were a part of the program. I also built a sisterhood throughout college with others who were going through similar things. It really provided me with a sense of security and belonging.”
For other staff and board members involved with BHGH Detroit, the organization’s mission inspires them to keep creating a better future for the city’s youth. Mark Hebert, current Chair of the Board of Directors, was touched by the story of the organization after being introduced to its story by a friend. Hebert had an educational background in nonprofit work via business but, over time, had gotten away from that particular sector. However, he always wanted to be involved in nonprofit work, and when the opportunity came, he was inspired to get involved. “I see young kids who really want to succeed who maybe just don’t have either the role models in their lives or the resources, or they could be first-generation college students. It reminds me of being that age, a high school student from a single-parent household, then a first-generation college student who had no idea what I was doing myself. If it wasn’t for mentors or people who came into my life, I would have no idea how to accomplish any of what I have.”
Looking to the Future
This year, BHGH will be graduating 14 seniors from the program. Two young men from the current program are bright, confident, and intelligent scholars who gave an insight into their plans for the future. Devian, a junior from the class of 2026, appreciates the experience of colleges emailing him. “I came as a freshman, and ever since, colleges have been knocking at my door left and right. I didn’t know that colleges would talk to me that much, but as of now I’m a junior and I’m already getting scholarships. I’m very appreciative of that. It’s been a great help, they help me with work. Right now, I have a 4.2 GPA. When I go to college everything will be free and I feel after that I’ll be very mature and very successful when I go.” Devian says that he plans on studying business and fashion. Chaz Duckett is a senior who will be graduating next year in 2025. He says that BHGH has given him a lot of clarity on what he wants to do and how he will achieve his goals. At first, attending college and receiving scholarships seemed a bit vague, but the program helped him figure out the specific steps he needed to take, what he wanted to pursue for a career, and how to achieve his goals. He plans to go into mechatronics and engineering when he goes to college. “It’s really helped me focus in on what I’m trying to do. I’m looking into scholarships a lot more and what I need to do to get them because of this program,” he says. Howard University is his dream school, but as for the local area, he’s also looking into the University of Michigan and Oakland University.
For those who are looking to get involved with Boys Hope Girls Hope Detroit, there are many ways to serve. The organization offers volunteer opportunities like meal prep, campus maintenance, and other positions like mentor, tutor, college preparatory coach, and more. In addition to volunteer work, there are opportunities to give and refer a child to receive services through BHGH Detroit. Hebert expressed the need to support the organization as it moves forward in its mission. “The numbers speak for themselves. We have a 100 percent high school graduation rate in a city that unfortunately doesn’t have those numbers. This is something that works, and it’s the future of our city while creating future leaders. These are young people that my children are going to look up to and work for. They’re going to pass that on to the generations after them. Why not invest in them? To me, if you love this city, Metro Detroit, and humanity in general, these are the kids who are going to push us to the next level. We’re in a super pivotal time in the country and world at large and these are the kids that are going to get us to the next level.”
For more information about Boys Hope Girls Hope Detroit and all of its programs, volunteer services, giving options, and more, visit their website at bhghdetroit.org.
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