Loyola University Maryland has awarded full, four-year scholarships covering tuition, fees, room, and board to eight young men who will be featured on an upcoming episode of the ABC television program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
The scholarship recipients are enrolled in Boys Hope Girls Hope Baltimore, part of a national non-profit organization that provides children who are at risk with a stable home, positive parenting, high-quality education, and other supports needed to reach their full potential. Founded by a Jesuit, Rev. Paul Sheridan, S.J., Boys Hope Girls Hope opened its first home in St. Louis, and now serves children, whom it calls “scholars,” in 40 homes in 16 cities. Since 1991, 100 percent of the participants in Boys Hope Girls Hope have attended college.
The Baltimore program opened a house for its male scholars in 2002, but has not yet established a dedicated facility for the girls. Wanting their female counterparts to have the same advantages, the boys reached out to Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and asked for help in creating a similar house for the girls. The program’s expert designers and teams of volunteers will build and decorate a home near the boys’ house while the girls enjoy a vacation.
“These young men have demonstrated extraordinary courage, determination, and commitment to their studies, as well as exceptional concern for and eagerness to help their classmates,” said Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J., Loyola’s president. “These are precisely the qualities we hope to see and to further instill in our students, and I look forward to welcoming the male scholars of Boys Hope Girls Hope as cherished members of the Loyola University Maryland family.”
Neighboring College of Notre Dame of Maryland has awarded similar scholarship offers to the program’s seven young women.
The build began at Boys Hope Girls Hope Baltimore’s northeast Baltimore location on Saturday, July 10, and continues through Thursday, July 15. Members of the Loyola employee and alumni communities also volunteered to work on the build.
The Emmy-award-winning reality program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, now entering its eighth season, is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It is executive-produced by Brady Connell and George Verschoor. David Goldberg is chairman of Endemol North America. The show airs Sundays from 8-9 p.m., ET on ABC.
Pictured Right: Two of the eight scholarship recipients from Boys Hope.
For more information or questions regarding this story, contact Media Relations Manager Nick Alexopulos at nalexopulos@loyola.edu or 410-617-5025.