Giving Hope & Help will award the following educational resources and Cash Legacy Scholarships at the program:
The Giving Hope & Help Education Is Your Passport (EIYP) Scholarship is for High School Senior applicants – It includes a laptop computer, a bed-in-a bag set for the dormitory, and a collegiate backpack filled with school supplies and a basket of toiletries. Additional toiletries may be supplied as requested throughout college.
All Scholarship Recipients will be eligible to receive:
• One year access to the College Coaching Network virtual scholarship platform
• Financial Literacy in a Box from Exceeds Expectations Inc.
• Paid Corporate Internship opportunities with GH&H Corporate Partners. (Internships are available per corporation’s need.)
• Five consecutive weekly sessions of Life Coaching – anytime during the scholar’s college career from New Life Education Training Group
• Volunteer opportunities throughout their college career via the Giving Hope & Help organization and partnering educational and community organizations
In addition, 7 scholarship applicants will receive the following CASH scholarships. These additional awards are based on the strength of the applicant's essay and demonstrated qualifications.
The first two CASH Scholarships are in honor of the Founder of Giving Hope & Help’s grandparents
* The Alexander Sr. & Cleo McCallop Legacy of Giving Scholarship - $3,500
Our founder, Jessica McCallop-McClellan's paternal grandparents were social change agents and pillars in the Kansas City Community. They provided produce and inroads to education through service, social justice and The McCallop Bus Company. Founded by Jessica's great grandfather, Robert Lee McCallop Sr., The McCallop Bus Company provided access to education and transportation to public schools for 39 years to African American students from Johnson County to attend public schools in Wyandotte County and across the KC metro. There is a permanent and prominent exhibit of the McCallop family at the Johnson County Musuem, in Overland Park, Kansas. The family legacy is from Slavery, to School Buses, to Scholarships and Service to all mankind. Jessica continues the legacy through the Giving Hope & Help mission and Education Is Your Passport Scholarship Program.
Alex and Cleo lived 88 and 96 heroic years respectively!
Learn more about the McCallop Family here: https://www.jocogov.org/newsroom/black-history-month-mccallops-community-legacy
* The Neoma Spearman Literacy Scholarship - $3,500
Our founder, Jessica's maternal grandmother was her hero. She graduated from high school and started her life a few years later with husband Lacey Spearman Sr. Together they had 14 children (10 girls and 4 boys, no twins). Grandpa Lacey passed from an unknown illness at the young age of 48, leaving Grandma Spearman to raise the remaining 11 children of the home as a single mother. She never remarried or had romantic relationships. She dedicated her life to God, her church, as the pianist, and the community for 88 years until her health faltered. She lived 90 heroic years. She retired from the Wyandotte County Court house after 30 years of service. She founded the Tuesday Morning Bible Study that is still thriving today with her daughters and friends. She also started a Christmas Eve tradition of family gathering that lives to this day. Annually over 200 family members and descendants from Lacey and Neoma gather every Christmas Eve.
Both of Jessica's grandmother's were close friends and members of the Neddle Craft Art Club. They lived just over the hill from each other in Argentine, Kansas. Jessica has fond memories of their friendship, sisterhood and servant's hearts which shaped the woman she is today.
* The Amauri Lynn Hughes Scholarship - $1,500
Illumination: June 16, 2006 Ascension: November 12, 2023
Amauri, the eldest of her siblings, was an exceptional athlete who shined bright as a championship-winning Nash Jem Elite All-Star cheerleader in her early years and later as a powerful volleyball player for the Lady Jags club and her school teams.
While quiet in nature, she possessed an angelic singing voice that would transform her when she performed, moving effortlessly between gospel hymns and contemporary songs.
She also found great joy in her first job at Target, where she cherished the diverse friendships she made while developing valuable leadership skills.
Amauri spent the majority of her school years in the Grandview Missouri School District and was a member of the Class of 2024.
* Two Historical Black College & University (HBCU) Scholarships - $1,500 each
Two HBCU cash scholarships will be awarded to two students that are committed to attending a HBCU. Our founder, Jessica, is a HBCU advocate and grad. She attended HBCU, Texas College in Tyler, Texas, on a full ride Presidential Scholarship. She transferred after her first successful year from Texas College to HBCU, Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA, graduating with honors. She later received a Master's Degree from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.
* The 100+ Women Who Care KC Scholarship - $2,000
This scholarship is funded by KC based giving circle, 100+ Women Who Care KC. GH&H was a recipient of the giving circle's 3rd Quarter 2025 grant and has dedicated $2,000 for a scholarship in the honor of philanthropy. This scholarship will be awarded to an applicant that exemplifies philanthrophy and humanitarianism, and who has worked and volunteered with GH&H or other local nonprofits.
* The Perseverance Award - $1,500
A scholarship recipient who has excelled in spite of living with life circumstances against all odds will receive The Perseverance Scholarship Award.