The Westchester Community Foundation awarded $552,000 in grants to area nonprofits, including $320,000 total to The Guidance Center, Yonkers Partners in Education, Westchester Community College Foundation, and Project Morry to help young people prepare for and succeed in college. The foundation will also award $250,000 in scholarships to students throughout the county this year.
Program officer Robin Melén said the Westchester Community Foundation focuses on investing in results-oriented programs geared to meet the needs of students, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college.
Nonprofits that received grants in June were:
- Aisling Irish Community Center, $25,000, to provide mental health services to Irish immigrants in Yonkers.
- Community Governance & Development Council, $20,000, for a civic engagement project in Yonkers.
- Furniture Sharehouse, Inc., $10,000, to expand the capacity of a furniture bank to accept more donated household furniture.
- Interfaith Council for Action, $25,000, to provide credit counseling, financial literacy training, and small emergency loans to low- and moderate- income individuals in Ossining.
- Jazz Forum Arts, $10,000, to present 16 free summer concerts at two venues in Tarrytown.
- Jewish Community Center on the Hudson, $15,000, to help Tarrytown”™s youth with special needs learn skills for independent living and self-advocacy.
- Lyndhurst, $15,000, to make tours of Lyndhurst free for Tarrytown residents.
- Mount Kisco Child Care Center, $12,000, to support an intergenerational program.
- Project Morry, $20,000, to support Westchester youth in a nine-year leadership development program in preparing for college.
- Rivertowns Village Green, $5,000, to make fresh, locally grown produce more accessible to low-income Tarrytown residents.
- RSHM Life Center, $30,000, to provide legal services to immigrants.
- The Guidance Center, Inc., $100,000, to expand a comprehensive academic success and college-preparation program.
- Westchester Children’s Association, $10,000, to train Westchester youth to be advocates for juvenile criminal justice reform.
- Westchester Community College Foundation, $100,000, to expand a college transition support program for lower-income, first-generation students attending Westchester Community College.
- Westchester Jewish Community Services, $30,000, for an education and employment readiness program for women in Yonkers.
- Westchester Library System, $25,000, to provide Creative Aging artists residencies in Westchester public libraries for seniors.
- Yonkers Partners in Education, $100,000, to support a college access and retention program for Yonkers School District students.
The Westchester Community Foundation ended 2015 with assets of $60 million and distributed $1.7 million dollars in discretionary grants to local nonprofits last year.
