The UNLV HOPE Scholars program (Service Learning and Leadership) has been awarded three years of funding totaling $180,000 by the United Way of Southern Nevada as part of their Community Impact Grants. The funding will sustain annual cohorts of students experiencing housing insecurity entering the HOPE Scholars program, which provides 12-month housing and meal support alongside wrap-around services, workshops, community building, and academic support for students. 

The program, managed by the office of service learning and leadership, is coordinated in partnership with many areas on campus as well as community partners such as the Clark County School District Title I HOPE office, the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, and Desert Sage Auxiliary. The program so far has supported two students to graduation from UNLV, and is anticipating several more in the coming year. Current HOPE Scholars achieved the highest ever cumulative GPA for the program in fall 2020, a remarkable feat given the stresses of the pandemic.

This is the second major source of support for the HOPE Scholars program in recent months. In March, The Degree extended its support of HOPE Scholars by providing eight 12-month beds in shared accommodations for the next three academic years, an in-kind gift valued at $171,000.