About the Trainees

About the Trainees

Hopeworks works with youth aged 14-23, some in school and some not in school.  We have designed programs that fit the schedules, needs, and D.R.E.A.M.S. of our youth.  We are not a school, so we have no students.  Instead, we have “trainees” who are engaged in a training curriculum.  The reason these distinctions are so crucial to our program is a pedagogical one.  Our motto is “Learning To Learn.”  By this, Hopeworks trainees learn how to learn on their own, developing essential skills that allow them to progress through the Hopeworks curriculum.  Youth learn to solve their own problems, using the resources that are available to them–namely, other youth, the curriculum, books and the Internet. This kind of learning is contrary to what our youth experience in their education, where pedagogically they have adopted stance of “being filled up” by an adult with answers.  Hopeworks seeks to break this learning model.  It is our goal that  youth who have attended our program will be more independent in their learning and move forward with confidence in their future, knowing that what they need to learn, they will be able to learn.
Hopeworks offers two training paths. The first, our day training program, occurs daily from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Trainees in this track are usually working on earning their high school diplomas or beginning their college careers by attending classes at Camden County College.
Trainees in our second training track are in high school. These trainees enter our program during a six-week summer training program called Hope Through School. Trainees who complete this program successfully are offered after-school jobs with Hopeworks during the academic year.
Meet the Trainees
College Trainees

Luis Erika Jonathan
College College College








Click here to see some of the 91 Hopeworks Alumni who went on to college

Day GEB production

Jonathan Ramon Erika Wesley
Day GEB
Production		 Day GEB
Production		 Day GEB
Production
Day GEB
Production









Day Trainees


Chris Dante

Day Trainee Day Trainee












Hope Through School GEB Production

Geheem Corey Ruben
H.T.S. GEB
Production		 H.T.S. GEB
Production		 H.T.S. GEB
Production
Hope Through School Youth

Naitiana Veronica Alfredo Michelle
H.T.S. Trainee H.T.S. Trainee H.T.S. Trainee H.T.S. Trainee
Rushelle MaDerrell Yarines Elizabeth
H.T.S. Trainee H.T.S. Trainee H.T.S. Trainee H.T.S. Trainee

About the y c n y

We do this by enhancing the lives ­of inner-city Camden youth. We expand the learning opportunities available to them, point the way to a future full of hope, and work together to create that future. The heart of our program is technology training, which we provide in­ a safe, respectful, and celebratory atmosphere. We train our youth in state-of-the art computer applications: Web site design, geographic information services (GIS), computer networking and repair, and video.

Through the Hopeworks program, we seek in particular:

  • To reduce the high school dropout rate for African-American and Hispanic youth in Camden, New Jersey.
  • To create hope for the future, good-paying jobs, business development, and educational opportunities for Camden’s young people: specifically for African-American and Hispanic youth between the ages of 17 and 25 who have dropped out of school. Such a mission is essential because, in our city:
    • 8,000 young people have dropped out of high school.
    • At the two public high schools, the high school dropout rate is nearly 70%.
    • 34% of the city’s young people are unemployed.
    • Nearly 50% of the city’s young people live in poverty.