Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) – Montgomery College Foundation
Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) – Montgomery College Foundation (acesmontgomery.org) is a collaboration among Montgomery County Public Schools, Montgomery College and The Universities at Shady Grove to increase college enrollment and completion among students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education. The program provides academic coaching, interventions and career experiences to 2,700 students enrolled in the three institutions.
Headquartered: Rockville
Serves: Montgomery County
What a donation buys:
• $250 helps a student purchase textbooks for one semester.
• $1,000 provides emergency assistance for a student facing a financial crisis.
• $10,000 pays for scholarships for up to 10 students.
Volunteer opportunities:
• One day: Share your own career story as a guest speaker, or offer career shadow experiences.
• Ongoing: Host an internship at your company.
• SSL
CollegeTracks
CollegeTracks (collegetracksusa.org) empowers first-generation-to-college students and students from immigrant and low-income households in Montgomery County, helping them bridge systemic opportunity gaps with support to get to and through higher education. The organization serves 2,000 students annually.
Headquartered: Silver Spring
Serves: Students and alums at Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Paint Branch, Quince Orchard, Watkins Mill and Wheaton high schools
What a donation buys:
• $250 supports three recent graduates in attending Summer College Success Skills Workshops.
• $1,000 provides one year of college admissions and financial advising for a high school senior.
• $5,000 provides one year of College Success Coaching for five college students, supporting them in persisting and graduating.
Volunteer opportunities:
• Weekly: Help students navigate the college admissions and financial aid process.
• Weekly: Tutor community college students in math or English.
Future Link
Future Link (futurelinkmd.org) seeks to close the social justice gap by empowering first-generation-to-college, low-income young adults through career exploration programs, academic advising, scholarships, internships and mentoring. Future Link’s individualized, intensive program emphasizes persistence in postsecondary education; teaches workplace, self-advocacy and personal decision-making skills; and helps young adults develop a concrete plan for a meaningful career pathway to enable self-sufficiency.
Headquartered: Rockville
Serves: Montgomery County
What a donation buys:
• $250 provides textbooks to a Future Link student.
• $1,000 provides career planners for three Future Link seminar classes.
• $10,000 funds a 15-week career development seminar for 25 students.
Volunteer opportunities:
• Three months: Work one-on-one with a student to help with career planning and exploration.
• Ongoing: Mentor a young adult.
• Internships
Generation Hope
Generation Hope (generationhope.org) ensures all student parents have the opportunities to succeed and experience economic mobility by engaging education and policy partners to drive systemic change and providing direct support to teen parents in college as well as their children through holistic, two-generation programming.
Headquartered: Washington, D.C.
Serves: Metro region
What a donation buys:
• $100 provides culturally relevant, age-appropriate children’s books to build a family’s home library.
• $1,000 ensures that eight scholars can participate in career readiness programming.
• $10,000 provides a complete four-year sponsorship for one scholar.
Volunteer opportunities:
• One day: Help with resume reviews, mock interviews and networking practice; host scholars for a career shadowing day at your workplace (or virtually); or serve as a child care volunteer at an event.
• Ongoing: Become a mentor, participate in a group mentoring opportunity, or tutor scholars.
• Internships
