Mission Statement

MISSION

Introduce Baltimore’s inner city youth to educational opportunities that exist beyond the confines of their community.

VISION

Bowdoin Bound is a program for academically talented urban students that dramatically increases access to opportunities and resources that will support their intellectual and social growth and enable them to become successful leaders in our world. Our program provides regular support that will enable our participants to remain committed to achieving high academic goals resulting in acceptance to the universities and colleges of their choosing. Scholarship aid to private schools and for extra-curricular programs that will challenge and motivate our students will allow our students access to experiences that enrich and deepen their understanding of our world. We expect all Bowdoin Bound program participants to attend universities and colleges, thereby inspiring other organizations to replicate the mission of Bowdoin Bound in cities throughout the U.S.

GOALS

• Continue to serve the students currently in the program and further develop the summer program taking into account the new age groups we will be serving each year
• Secure a funding base to cover program costs and scholarships
• Expand the program to include more schools and more students in Baltimore
• Program participants will become future sources of funding, mentoring, and volunteers needed to expand the program
• Explore ways to replicate the program in other cities

STRATEGIES

• Develop and implement a mentoring program
• Recruit and maintain an infrastructure of grassroots volunteers to facilitate all program activities
• Secure funding for program sustainability and scholarship aid
• Continue our recreation based summer program for our elementary students
• Create a rigorous and compelling summer program for our middle and high school students that focuses on reading, writing, critical thinking, and mathematical concepts, which extends to additional support throughout the year.
• Create a rigorous and compelling academically enriched year-long program for our students that focuses on reading, writing, critical thinking, and mathematical concepts
• Develop connections with and access to other institutions providing compelling summer academic programs
• Integrate standardized test preparation into our program activities
• Develop an internal “Bowdoin Bound Action Plan” that includes our mission, vision, goals and strategies and identifies all associated activities, timelines, budgets, actions needed, funding required, and persons responsible for completion of each program task in order to eadcing our vision to fruition
• Identify outcomes to be tracked to determine our program’s success
• Diversify and expand our donor base
• Create a financial aid process
• Apply for available grants to support our mission
• Create a college application support network
• Develop relationships with other Baltimore schools so our applicant pool can be increased to better identify program participants
• Begin planning a pilot program that brings in students from other parts of the country with an eye towards franchising our program concept in other urban areas
• Provide parent education on financial aid and annual actions needed to be taken
• Provide the private schools with an opportunity to meet our program participants and their parents.