IMPACT &GROWTH
Most of the adult students Upward Scholars serves
have overcome impossible odds before they find us.

100%

99%

live at, or below,
the poverty line

are immigrants

91%
from Latin
America69%

70%

are women

are parents

This is why Upward Scholars exists.
Research shows that access to education, career development,
and English language acquisition are the most critical factors inimmigrants moving up the economic ladder.

Upward Scholars gives them that last mile of support
that makes the difference between being stuck in lowpaying, dead-end jobs or moving up the economic ladder.
Here’s a snapshot of the impact we’ve made together.

1,000+
students
since 2010

12,000+volunteerhours
since 2010

$250,000+
textbook support
since 2010250+

laptopssince 2015

700+
food vouchers
since 2018

$150,000+transitvouchers
since 2013

2020
HIGHLIGHTS
Upward Scholars had$715,576* in income and$529,359 in expenses.
*includes $115,000 restricted funds to expend in 2021

100%
ESL students
speak and write
better English

63
student
laptops100%

Revenue by Source

students earnmore money

10earned
Englishproficiency43270%

64

students areparents

11
Individuals
Foundations
Corporations

In 2020, Linda Prieto continued
as Executive Director andpromoted Milena Miyashiro toAcademic Program Manager

earned AA/AS
degrees3
students
transferred
to a 4-year
university

and Diana Viscarra to Program
hired our second full-time
employee, Jessica MagallónProgram Manager.

96%
students help
their children
more withhomework

Coordinator. Additionally, weGálvez, as the MoveUp

100%
students better
able tocommunicate withchild’s teacher*Returning students
are students whohave been in theprogram for at least
one other semester.

Our Student Community
Number of students served
500
400

340300195

2001002212010

2011

8148236385294

273

13002012

2013

2014

Gender2015

2016

20172018

2019

2020

31

WomenMen

69

8Countries of origin

1Latin America
United States
Other
91

Where students live
Redwood City
East Palo Alto / Menlo ParkSan Carlos / San Bruno
Pacifica / South San Francisco
Pescadero / Moss Beach
Other

266111659

COVID-19 PROGRAMSAND SERVICES
In 2020, students were dealing with many unexpected
effects of the pandemic. Due to COVID-19, more than
80 percent of our students reported loss of employment,housing and food insecurity, challenges with theiroverall physical, mental, and emotional health,increased domestic violence, and escalated
discrimination. Over 50% of them have yet to recover.
The severity of the situation caused many to be pushed
out of the area altogether. As we experienced a decline
in student enrollment, we quickly stretched, retaining
76% of our students by providing additional services.
To more holistically and deeply serve our students andtheir families, we provided the following criticalresources during the past year:
Laptops and Internet Access:To ensure students could take classes remotely,
we provided all students with laptops andInternet access.

Remote one-on-one Tutoring or Mentoring:
We helped half of our students pivot and maintaintheir weekly virtual one-on-one tutor and mentor
sessions.

COVID-19 PROGRAMSAND SERVICES
Virtual Conversation Clubs and RemoteConversation Partners:
Through these one-on-one or group settings, fluent
English-speaking volunteers ensured students
continued to practice English and stayed focusedon their educational goals.

Career Development Support:
Through the ¡Habla Más! program, we trained
students to work virtually as paid Spanish coaches,and hired a full-time Program Manager who
developed additional employment opportunities forour students.

Food:
Through donations and partnerships with otherlocal nonprofits, we provided food vouchers,
grocery gift cards, drive-thru meals, or fooddelivery, to our most vulnerable students.

Masks:
Through partnerships with other local nonprofits,
we provided more than 600 masks for students andtheir families.

COVID-19 PROGRAMSAND SERVICES
Support Groups:
To offer critical emotional and community
support, we established online facilitatedspaces like Plática Entre Familia and an
all-student WhatsApp group.

Partner Referrals:
We referred students to other local partners
for services beyond our mission, such as
housing assistance, medical care, mental
health services, intimate partner abuse
support, immigration aid, and summer reading
programs for our students' children.

Transportation:
We continued our transportation voucher
program and expanded with donated bicycles
and even an SUV to students lacking
transportation.

Safety Net Fund:We created our first Student Safety Net Fundraising nearly $150,000 for financial
assistance to relieve and encourage students
to persist in college.

For more information or to donate:
Visit us at www.upwardscholars.org
Email us at info@upwardscholars.org
Call us at 650.254.6109

Upward Scholars
855 Jefferson Ave, Box 506
Redwood City, CA 94064