Community Outreach Project Gets $20,000 Grant

The Turn 2 Foundation, founded by Derek Jeter to help teens stay away from drugs and alcohol, has awarded a $20,000 grant to Outreach Project in Richmond Hill. Outreach Project is a non-profit organization that services the community with adolescent and adult drug and alcohol treatment, vocational services, HIV/AIDS services and community and professional training.
The grant will be applied to enhancing Outreach Project’s Second Opportunity School (SOS), in partnership with the New York City Department of Education (DOE), to help troubled teens.
&#8220The Turn 2 Foundation has been and continues to be extremely generous to our programs supporting teenagers,” said Kathleen Riddle, president of Outreach Project. &#8220The grant for SOS will ensure that students who have faced challenges will receive additional help to identify their needs and connect them with appropriate community assistance.”
Students at SOS are obligated to attend the school for an entire year because of a superintendent’s suspension for carrying a weapon, an assault on another individual or any other serious transgression. According to SOS their mission is &#8220To empower our students, with the aid of their families, to acquire the educational and behavioral skills they need to succeed in the 21st Century.”
In addition to the regular middle school curriculum, SOS provides a variety of services for both the students and family members. These include individual and group counseling, family counseling and support, home visits and crisis intervention. SOS states that their teachers concentrate on helping students to attain knowledge, skills and abilities which are needed for citizenship, employment and lifelong learning. Their counselors focus on assisting students in developing the techniques they need to make effective decisions in their life.
Outreach Project’s SOS facility is located in Richmond Hill, Queens. The regular hours of operation for the school are 8:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. with additional hours available weekly for counseling and supportive services. Outreach Projects also has five other locations in Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island. For further information visit www.opiny.org or call 718-847-9233.