Hope Grows H.E.R.E.
H.E.R.E. is an experiential learning program for students entering helping professions. Students learn directly from community partners, then return that investment through community-based service.
What is H.E.R.E.?
Higher Education Resource Exchange, or H.E.R.E., is built around a simple exchange: community partners share their time, knowledge, and experience with students, and students return that investment through service, reflection, and community connection.
This is not just volunteering. It is learning by showing up, listening, serving, and building the kind of local knowledge future helping professionals need. H.E.R.E. helps students become Community Connection Fellows: people who know where to turn, who to call, and how to connect others with meaningful support.
Who is H.E.R.E. for?
Students
For students preparing for helping professions who want real community experience, mentorship, peer connection, and practical resource knowledge.
Community Partners
For organizations willing to teach students about their work, their community, and the systems they navigate every day.
Colleges
For institutions that want to move beyond one-time service projects or donations and toward reciprocal community exchange.
Community Members
For people who believe stronger communities are built through relationships, shared responsibility, and knowing how to connect people with help.
How it works
Students participate in a cohort during a semester long session. Each week includes both learning and service.
- Learning time with community partners
- Community-based service in return for that learning
- Reflection and discussion
- Peer connection within the cohort
- Opportunities to build mentorship and leadership skills
When people need help, they often call someone who says, “I know somebody who can help”
H.E.R.E. was created to help students become those people.
Why it matters
Colleges and universities exist inside communities. H.E.R.E. is rooted in the belief that higher education should be in real relationship with those communities, not just through donations or one-time service projects, but through reciprocal exchange.
Community partners help educate future helping professionals. Students return labor, attention, reflection, and connection. Together, the exchange supports students, organizations, and the broader health of the community.
Fall 2026 applications
Applications are open for students interested in becoming Community Connection Fellows.
H.E.R.E. is a good fit for students who are curious, reliable, willing to learn, and willing to show up for their community and their cohort.