The Woodside Houses Residents Association welcomed a $25,000 scholarship donation from energy company Rise Light & Power at its fourth annual Family Day last weekend, which also gave residents an opportunity to celebrate their local community.
The family day, held on Saturday, July 19, at Woodside Houses, celebrated a contribution from Rise Light & Power that will go toward scholarships for 196 rising fifth-graders living in Queensbridge, Ravenswood, Astoria and Woodside Houses.
As part of the $25,000 Rise Light & Power Community Scholarship contribution, all 196 children received $127.55 in their NYC Scholarship Account for college and career training.
Rise Light & Power, which is overseeing the transition of the Ravenswood Generating Station from a fossil fuel plant into a clean energy hub, made the contribution through the NYC Kids RISE Save for College Program, a scholarship and savings program designed to make college and career training more accessible and achievable for all NYC public school students.
Nearly every rising first, second, third, and fourth grade student in NYC public schools has a Scholarship Account as part of the program, with each student receiving an initial $100. Those funds and any subsequent deposits are placed in a tax-free 529 investment account in order to give families and children an opportunity to put money aside and make college more accessible and affordable.
NYC Kids RISE then invests those funds and any subsequent savings or deposits in a 529 account, making college and career training more accessible for families.
To date, there are 1,477 students living in Queensbridge, Ravenswood, Astoria and Woodside Houses with an NYC Scholarship Account and more than $1 million in financial assets has been accumulated in their accounts for college and career training.
Rise Light & Power Director and External Affairs Director Will Fisher presented Woodside Houses’ Resident Association with a check for $25,000 at Saturday’s family day. Elected officials including U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez and Council Member Julie Won also joined for the family-fun celebrations, which included food, community resources, music and a celebration of the Woodside Houses community.
Woodside Houses’ Resident Association President Tammy Reyes praised Rise Light & Power for investing in the future of local children.
“Family Day is about community,” Reyes said in a statement. “It’s about collective action and it’s a testament to the fact that parents and guardians are not in this alone. Woodside Houses is so proud to have been a part of the early days of creating the Save for College Program and thrilled to celebrate this additional investment in the amazing children in our neighborhood through the Rise Light & Power Community Scholarship 2025.”
