UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — When Shelby Jones enrolled as a special education major in Penn State’s College of Education five years ago, she was already planning for her life after graduation.
Jones, a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and her family have been involved with the international nonprofit Education and Hope since she was a little girl. Located in Quatzaltenango, Guatemala, the organization provides education to impoverished children in the western highlands of the country where more than 50 percent of the population lives in poverty and the average level of education among adults is 4.1 years. Since its inception 18 years ago, Education and Hope has provided more than 3,000 scholarships to Guatemalan children, many of whom have gone on to graduate high school and attend college.
“Education and Hope has been a part of my family for a very long time,” Jones said. “My mom went to college with Julie Coyne, the woman who started Education and Hope. My parents have always hoped that my siblings and I might one day travel there and volunteer.”
Until now, her family’s involvement with Education and Hope has been through monetary support, she said. However, through their involvement they have had the opportunity to see the effects the organization has on the children it serves.
“We have watched these children grow up to be success stories and that alone has given us the connection and love for Education and Hope,” she said, pointing to the example of a former student who recently graduated medical school and received the Chevening Scholarship to study pediatric public health at Swansea University in London.
“We see, firsthand, the work that goes on and the impact that it has.”