Community scholarships amounting to $35,800 were given to local first through fourth graders in Woodside as part of an effort to reduce crime through education access.
At the annual National Night Out Against Crime on Tuesday, Aug. 3, which promotes police and community partnership, the Woodside Houses Tenants Association leaders presented the check to NYC Kids RISE participants.
The Woodside Houses Resident Association collaborated with NYC Kids RISE to raise money for students attending P.S. 151. As a result, almost $200 was raised for each student enrolled in the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program.
“There is no better crime prevention strategy than investing in our children early on and showing them that the community believes in their dreams,” said the president of the Woodside Houses Tenants Association Annie Cotton Morris, who is also an alumna of P.S. 151.
The Save for College Program provides a savings account regardless of a family’s income or immigration status. Starting in kindergarten, participating students automatically receive $100 initially deposited into their savings account.
Over 13,000 first through third graders, representing 95 percent of all students in those grades in school District 30, are enrolled. Over $6 million will go towards their college and career training with contributions from NYC Kids RISE and community scholarships.
“Our P.S. 151Q community has been working tirelessly with families to encourage them with their NYC Scholarship Accounts and organizing other college and career-themed activities to help our children dream big,” Morris said. “We want our children to know that their futures are bright and they have a bedrock of support behind them, and this critical investment through the Woodside Houses Resident Association’s community scholarship is a key part of that mission.”
