From actor and lifelong activist Alyssa Milano comes Hope Roberts, a girl who's determined to change the world. Hope is eleven years old, and she wants to be an astrophysicist. She loves swimming, Galaxy Girl comic books, her best friend Sam, and her two rescue dogs.Hope believes it's always a good day to champion a cause, defend an underdog, and save the future. And most of all, she believes in dreaming big. That's why she's enrolled in all of the advanced classes at her new middle school. She's smart and confident in her abilities. But though Hope seems super strong on the outside, there's another side of her, too. She's just a regular girl trying to survive middle school.It's the beginning of sixth grade, and Hope's BFF quickly meets a new group of friends in her classes. Hope doesn't know how to handle it. She and Sam have always been inseparable! Things don't go as well for Hope. She embarrasses herself in front of her whole class, and then she gets off on the wrong foot with her new classmate, Camila. Even science club doesn't go as planned. None of the boys in the club will listen to the girls' ideas, and Hope and Camila get stuck doing the boring part of their science project, even though it was their idea. But Hope is determined to prove herself to the boys -- even if it means doing a lot of extra work on her own. She knows that sometimes changing the world starts small. So now Hope has a mission! Can she turn the science club into a place that's welcoming for everyone -- and make some new friends along the way?Hope's relatability, kindness, empathy, and can-do attitude will inspire a generation of do-gooders. This new series is a response to the very palpable feeling that not only can young people save the world -- they will!

The local animal shelter might be closing -- and it's up to Hope Roberts to save it! Meet Hope Roberts. She's eleven years old, and she wants to be an astrophysicist. She loves swimming, Galaxy Girl comic books, and her two rescue dogs. Hope believes it's always a good day to champion a cause, defend an underdog, and save the future. And most of all, she believes in dreaming big. But though Hope seems super strong on the outside, there's another side of her, too. She's just a regular girl trying to survive middle school.In the second book in Alyssa Milano's funny and relatable middle-grade series, Hope decides to do whatever it takes to stop the local animal shelter from closing down. It's where she found her two furry best friends -- it has to stay open so the other animals there can find their fur-ever homes, too! But can Hope get the support she needs in time to keep the shelter doors open?Hope's relatability, kindness, empathy, and can-do attitude will inspire a generation of do-gooders. This new series is a response to the very palpable feeling that not only can young people save the world -- they will!

Hope Roberts for President -- or not? In the third book in Alyssa Milano's funny and relatable middle-grade series, Hope is running for sixth grade class president, with her friend and campaign manager, Grace, by her side. But in her effort to win over her classmates, Hope makes some promises she can't keep. Can Hope make things right with the students of JFK Middle -- and maybe still win the election, too? Hope's relatability, kindness, empathy, and can-do attitude will inspire a generation of do-gooders. This series is a response to the very palpable feeling that not only can young people save the world -- they will!This story will tie in perfectly to the 2020 presidential election and include Hope's tips about voting and elections in the back of the book!

Hope Roberts saves the planet! In the fourth book in Alyssa Milano's funny and relatable middle-grade series, Hope Roberts is determined to save the world—literally. Hope has already gotten her school to add more recycling bins and coordinate a carpooling program. But it's not enough. Hope wants to do more to protect the environment before it's too late. But will Hope's plans to help the planet backfire?Hope's relatability, kindness, empathy, and can-do attitude will inspire a generation of do-gooders. This series is a response to the very palpable feeling that not only can young people save the world—they will!This story will include Hope's tips about recycling and protecting the environment in the back of the book!

During the 1990s, growing demands to end chronic welfare dependency culminated in the 1996 federal "welfare-to-work" reforms. But regardless of welfare reform, the United States has always been home to a large population of working poor—people who remain poor even when they work and do not receive welfare. In a concentrated effort to address the problems of the working poor, a coalition of community activists and business leaders in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, launched New Hope, an experimental program that boosted employment among the city's poor while reducing poverty and improving children's lives. In Higher Ground, Greg Duncan, Aletha Huston, and Thomas Weisner provide a compelling look at how New Hope can serve as a model for national anti-poverty policies. New Hope was a social contract—not a welfare program—in which participants were required to work a minimum of thirty hours a week in order to be eligible for earnings supplements and health and child care subsidies. All participants had access to career counseling and temporary community service jobs. Drawing on evidence from surveys, public records of employment and earnings, in-depth interviews, and ethnographic observation, Higher Ground tells the story of this ambitious three-year social experiment and evaluates how participants fared relative to a control group. The results were highly encouraging. Poverty rates declined among families that participated in the program. Employment and earnings increased among participants who were not initially working full-time, relative to their counterparts in a control group. For those who had faced just one significant barrier to employment (such as a lack of access to child care or a spotty employment history), these gains lasted years after the program ended. Increased income, combined with New Hope's subsidies for child care and health care, brought marked improvements to the well-being and development of participants' children. Enrollment in child care centers increased, and fewer medical needs went unmet. Children performed better in school and exhibited fewer behavioral problems, and gains were particularly dramatic for boys, who are at the greatest risk for poor academic performance and behavioral disorders. As America takes stock of the successes and shortcomings of the Clinton-era welfare reforms, the authors convincingly demonstrate why New Hope could be a model for state and national policies to assist the working poor. Evidence based and insightfully written, Higher Ground illuminates how policymakers can make work pay for families struggling to escape poverty.

Dozens of influential leaders have heard the pleas of mothers and children in developing countries. Raising their voices to inspire a movement to increase healthy pregnancies and lower death rates, Melinda Gates, Kay Warren, Bill Frist, Kimberly Williams Paisley, Michael W. Smith and more speak out about why people of faith must get involved in The Mother and Child Project: Raising Our Voices for Health and Hope. Almost 287,000 women die each year because of pregnancy and birth complications. Many orphans are left behind in the wake of this tragedy, and without a mother, many of those children die as well. If only enough people knew. We have the resources to prevent this crisis, but we must take action. Fortunately, Hope Through Healing Hands, a nonprofit organization promoting awareness for healthy mothers and children worldwide, is already spreading the word. Not only can we save lives, reduce abortions, and decrease death rates, but also we can help build healthier, thriving families and bring stability and sustainability to families, communities and nations. The question is, will you join them?

This book has a simple message for business leaders: you help yourselves by helping the poor. Instead of feeling as if the economy is working against them, the poor need to feel they have a stake in it so they will buy your products and put money in the bank. Supporting poor people's efforts to move into the middle class is the only way to enrich everyone, rich and poor alike.