Boys Hope Girls Hope helps academically capable and motivated children-in-need to meet their full potential and become men and women for others by providing family-like support, opportunities and education through college. CEO Paul Minorini is a recipient of the Elfenworks Foundation In Harmony with Hope®award. Contact: www.boyshopegirlshope.org ~ 12120 Bridgeton Square Drive / Bridgeton, MO 63044 ~ (314) 298-1250 or 877-878-HOPE.
Paul Minorini has been involved in Boys Hope Girls Hope for nearly half of his life. While an undergraduate at Northwestern University, Minorini served as a Boys Hope Girls Hope house parent, living in the homes three or four days a week and attending classes during the day when the scholars were at school. As he worked his way through the University of Pennsylvania Law School, Minorini continued to mentor at-risk scholars. His outstanding efforts were recognized when he was honored with the Outstanding Community Service Award by the university. It was clear he’d already found his life’s calling. He continued his advocacy on behalf of kids as an attorney practicing with Hogan & Hartson LLP in the national capital area, where he addressed the issue of equity in education and equitable opportunities for at-risk children.
Ultimately, the pull of Boys Hope Girls Hope proved too strong. In 1997, Minorini and his family moved to Missouri to begin work as the organization’s director of organizational advancement. Four years later, he was appointed president and CEO, a position he has held for the past decade.
Boys Hope Girls Hope is a privately funded, non-profit organization that provides children-in-need with the support they need to reach their full potential: a stable environment with positive mentoring, a quality education, and support—financial, moral, and emotional. Some of these children are neglected. Some come from families afflicted by drug abuse, mental illness, and other dysfunctions. Many are loved by caring families whose struggles overwhelm any thought of aspiration or achievement. The common theme in their backgrounds is, of course, poverty.
Boys Hope Girls Hope gives children positive mentoring, long-term adult relationships, and emotional as well as financial support, through college and beyond. Based in Bridgeton, Missouri, Boys Hope Girls Hope currently serves children in 15 U.S. cities, plus Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Guatemala. The slogan of this inspiring organization is as simple and humble as its mission: “There’s no place like Hope.”
Under his leadership, Boys Hope Girls Hope began a community-based outreach program for children whose home situation did not require out-of-home placement. The program currently serves eight sites and has effectively doubled the number the children-in-need that Boys Hope Girls Hope can serve.
Minorini has also directed energy, resources and focus into college preparation success, which he believes is the organization’s greatest accomplishment of the past decade. The college prep seminar “goes beyond nuts and bolts; it’s about character, it’s about whole-person development; it’s about giving them some experiences together and alone, which will allow them to really integrate well into the college community,” said Minorini. The investment is paying off: Boys Hope Girls Hope college retention rates are between 84% and 94%.
In addition to the In Harmony with Hope award, Minorini was honored with a HOBY International Inspiration Award, presented at the Universal Studios Globe Theatre in 2008. (We understand the HOBY awards learned of Minorini’s inspiring work through their attendance at the Concert for Hope. Writes Minorini to Elfenworks, “You’ve really started a snowball, here.”) And, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition selected Boys Hope Girls Hope for their season opener in September 2010. They built the Girls Hope Home in Baltimore, Maryland.
In Harmony with Hope Award
…and so, in recognition of this very special organization and its three decades of dedication to helping children-in-need fulfill their potential and their dreams – On behalf of the trustees of The Elfenworks Foundation, I present this In Harmony with Hope award to Paul Minorini, president and CEO of Boys Hope Girls Hope.”
– September 6, 2007
A note from Boys Hope Girls Hope
“I am so inspired by your commitment to helping shine a light on the issues of poverty in this country. It is only through such increased attention that we can make progress in tackling the problem. Thank you also for the gift that will be used to help Boys Hope Girls Hope update our branding and messaging, as well as our Web presence. That assistance will really help us moving forward with our dreams and vision. Your energy and strength, as well as your vision, are infectious!” – Paul Minorini, CEO
“We can not thank you enough. Now the parents and older siblings of so many of the children we care for will also be able to receive computer training and help themselves improve their lives and those around them. I am certain that this ripple will make a major difference in the welfare of the community we serve.” – Mark Abrams, SVP International Development
