BRONX W www.BXTimes.com EEKLY December 23, 2018 16
Lehman receives Robin Hood grant to target on-time graduation
Finding the right formula
to increase on-time graduation
rates has long been a quest for
colleges, which is why the Robin
Hood Foundation’s renewable
$1.1 million grant to Lehman
College for a promising new
program is a big deal for the college
and the 250 students that
will benefit.
The foundation awarded
the money to expand CUNY’s
Accelerate, Complete and Engage
program at Lehman. The
program helps baccalaureate
students complete their degrees
in four years.
The new program at Lehman
also marks the first time
transfer students with associate
degrees have been allowed
to participate in the ACE program.
Students that take longer
than four years to earn their degree
are at a disadvantage. They
spend more money in school
costs, lose those years of earning
potential, and many don’t
ever finish school at all.
The program will work
with 125 full-time first-time students
entering college and 125
full-time students transferring
from a two-year college in fall
2019 for all four years of their education,
with a goal of doubling
four-year baccalaureate graduation
rates. The grant money will
cover the often-overlooked costs
that make it more difficult for
some students to attend school
full time: textbooks, lab fees,
MetroCards to get to and from
class, and gaps between financial
aid and the cost of tuition.
Additionally, the ACE program
will offer extra personalized
support for the selected students.
Students will have access
to resources such as embedded
career development, targeted
academic advising, counseling,
and help with finding internships
and applying for research
opportunities and scholarships.
* * *
Wild Aces MC is hosting a
coat drive to collect clean, gently
worn, warm coats on January
12, 2019 between 12PM and
9PM at CorkScrew Bar and Grill
in jersey City. Area residents
are invited to make a difference
in our local community by
donating to the coat drive and
helping Wild Aces MC Nation
reach their goal of collecting
200 coats and $1,000 dollars for
the cause.
Each year, hundreds of
thousands of gently worn coats
are distributed across North
America to children, women and
men in need through One Warm
Coat’s Coat Drive program.
One Warm Coat is a national
non-profit organization
that works to provide a free,
warm coat to any person in
need and raises awareness of
the vital need for warm coats.
One Warm Coat supports individuals,
groups, companies
and organizations across the
country by providing the tools
and resources needed to hold
a successful coat drive. Coats
are distributed in the communities
where they were collected,
to any person in need, without
charge, discrimination or obligation.
Over the past 26 years,
One Warm Coat has worked
with its volunteers to give away
more than 5 million coats.
For more information visit
www.onewarmcoat.org.
* * *
The New York City Emergency
Management Department
and the Department for the Aging
presented the sixth annual
Ready New York Senior Center
of the Year Award to Julie
Dalton, executive director for
Riverdale Senior Services, for
her ongoing commitment to preparing
seniors for emergencies.
The center provides daily services
and programs to about 300
older adults, including exercise,
art, gardening classes, on-site
health counseling and benefit
review services, and support
groups. The center also provides
a hands-on adult day program
for people with early memory
loss, and hosts a knitting club,
which donates caps, mittens,
and other clothing items to the
maternal unit on Rikers Island.
As part of the emergency
preparedness program, members
received regular preparedness
presentations and are reminded
to pack a Go Bag with
basic supplies, medical information,
and contact names and
numbers. Ms. Dalton has shown
dedication to emergency preparedness
by coordinating numerous
multilingual, interactive,
and educational workshops
for seniors. Additionally, the
center has developed a strong
relationship with the local fire
department and with the NYPD
50th Precinct, both of which
conduct regular safety presentations
for seniors. During heat
emergencies, the senior center
serves as one of the city’s more
than 500 cooling centers activated
to help New Yorkers beat
the heat.
* * *
NYS Department of Transportation
announced that reconstruction
is complete on the
Randall Avenue Bridge over
the Throgs Neck Expressway,
part of a $49 million investment
that is rehabilitating three
bridges in the city. Construction
on the bridge began in January
Completed reconstruction on the Randall Avenue Bridge over the Throgs Neck Expressway.
2018.
The bridge rehabilitation
replaced the bridge deck and
made steel and sub-structural
repairs on the bridge. The new
bridge deck was constructed using
precast concrete deck panels,
which accelerated the construction
schedule.
The project also resurfaced
pavement on the bridge approaches
and upgraded bridge
lighting above and below the
decks with LED lighting. In
addition, the sidewalk on the
bridge and at each end was replaced,
and new curb ramps
compliant with the Americans
with Disabilities Act were installed
at each corner.
* * *
The National Puerto Rican
Day Parade is now accepting
applications for its 2019 National
Scholarship Program.
For the third consecutive
year, the NPRDP will award 100
scholarships valued at $2,000
each, for a total $200,000, to exceptional
students of Puerto
Rican descent that are making
a difference in their communities.
Applicants must be high
school seniors or full-time college/
university students in
their freshman through junior
years in college.
To be eligible, applicants
must meet the following criteria:
• Be of Puerto Rican descent;
• Have a grade point average
(GPA) of 3.0 or better, or equivalent
high school grade;
• Be a high school senior or
freshman through junior in college,
ages of 17 through 25;
• Be enrolled in an accredited
two or four-year college/university,
for college students;
• Have a track record of doing
volunteer work or community
service;
• Participate in an interview
with a member(s) of the
scholarship selection committee.
Scholarship winners from
prior years are eligible to reapply,
given that they comply
with all other eligibility criteria.
Applications are available
for download at www.nprdpinc.
org. Candidates must electronically
submit completed
applicationand academic transcriptsby
Friday, February 22,
2019. Transcripts should be
emailed to scholarships@nprdpinc.
orgor mailed to National
Puerto Rican Day Parade, P.O
Box 975, New York, NY 10272 by
Friday, February 22, 2019. Materials
received after this date
will result in disqualification.
NPRDP Scholarship application
packages must include:
a completed application form;
an essay; a written biography;
two letters of recommendation,
of which one letter of recommendation
must be from the
site where the student performs
his/her volunteer work;
official academic transcripts
and a head shot photo. Letters
of recommendation should be
requested from teachers, professors,
counselors, mentors,
clergy, community leaders, etc.
Letters should speak to the applicant’s
community service,
length of the relationship with
the candidate, and any specific
contributions the applicant has
made to the community.
NPRDP established the
Scholarship Program to promote
the pursuit of higher
education in the Puerto Rican
community. In 2017, the organization
broke its all-time record
for total number and dollar
amount of scholarships to
be awarded (100 scholarships
valued at $2,000 each, for a total
$200,000), which the organization
has maintained since.
For more information
about other NPRDP programs
and updates on the upcoming
annual parade on Sunday June
9, 2019, the public can visit
www.nprdpinc.org. Facebook:
@nationalpuertoricandayparade.
Twitter and Instagram:
@PRParadeNYC.
* * *
Stop by City Island and enjoy
the exciting programs offered
at the PSS City Island
Center, which is located at 116
City Island Avenue, Monday
Through Friday From 9 a.m.
to 3 p.m. Experience The Exercise
Classes From Gentle
Yoga Stretch, Balance Class,
Arthritis Workshop and Tai
Chi as well, as the Fit For Life
and Cardio Fit. They also offer
acrylic painting, calligraphy,
canasta, health presentations,
nutritional information,
and parties. Lunch is served
from noon to 1pm. Suggested
donation is $2. They go on
shopping trips every day; i.e.
Shop Rite, Dollar Tree, Target,
Kmart, as well as theatre
excursions, boat trips, special
luncheons and more.
Upcoming special events
will be held Monday, December
24, closing early at
1 p.m., lunch served 11:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m..; Tuesday,
December 25, closed for
Christmas Day.
It’s free to become a
member, but you must be
60 years or above. For more
information contact Patty
at (718) 885-0727 or email
pattis@pssusa.org.
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