Telephone: 1-202-449-8663 | E-Mail: raybelljr@gmail.com
“To end poverty in Washington, DC.”
That’s what I say when asked why I started the H.O.P.E. Project, a career-training program for socially and economically disadvantaged adults. The H.O.P.E. Project specializes in preparing these adults – especially those 18 through 24 – for entry-level positions as Information Technology (IT) Help Desk support professionals.
Since I founded the H.O.P.E. Project in 2009 it has helped over 2,000 students become world class IT professionals who work on major contracts for the federal government, corporations, or now operate their own IT firms.
We empower young adults to take ownership and control their own destiny, and the work starts from the very beginning. The program has a very competitive application process. We receive more than 250 applications for the 20-25 seats in each class, and we have very high classroom standards. The students have nicknamed the program “The Harvard of the Hood.”
The H.O.P.E. Project has a rigorous technical and soft skills training curriculum, which is designed to prepare students for entry-level Help Desk and application support positions. Students must maintain a 75% GPA to remain in the program, and can only miss 3 days during each phase.
Well known throughout the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area, the H.O.P.E. Project is also well respected in the region’s IT community, IT recruiters and staffing agencies. Since 2009 the local chapter of the Help Desk Institute (HDI), and several prominent Meet Up Groups such as the Federal SharePoint Users Group, have supported our work. In addition, several companies have become unofficial partners, looking to the H.O.P.E. Project for entry-level Help Desk professionals. Those companies include GDIT, PRISM Inc., and CACI.
The H.O.P.E. Project is a bright light in the community, and the light is getting brighter. We look forward to you joining our work helping young adults take ownership and control their own destiny.
Learn more about the H.O.P.E. Project, how to bring it to your community, and how to enroll here.
Feel free to contact me, and my team, via email or phone: raybell@hopeprojectdc.org
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