Trinity Church Wall Street Awards $450K to Project Impact at BMCC

As part of its latest wave of philanthropic giving, Trinity Church Wall Street has named Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) a grantee in the category “Racial Justice,” awarding $450,000 to the Research Foundation of The City University of New York, and earmarking those funds for Project Impact at BMCC.

Project Impact connects BMCC students who have been impacted by the legal system with a mentor, a supportive community and access to resources that enable them to thrive in college.

In collaboration with the New York City Department of Education, Project Impact hosts three GED programs; two at BMCC’s Chambers Street campus and one at BMCC/CUNY in The Heights. In addition, Project Impact works to support students earning their associate degree at BMCC by providing peer mentoring, access to wraparound services and emergency funds, when needed.

Among the program’s successes are a less than 1% recidivism rate among participants. The Trinity award will ensure that the project continues building its success and has strong leadership over the next three years.

“Through the generous support of Trinity Church Wall Street, Project Impact will be able to expand the services it provides to justice impacted students at BMCC,” says Julie Appel, Director of Project Impact.

In addition to expanding the project, Project Director Appel will build on a comprehensive study recently concluded by BMCC Human Services Professor Lisa Rose and BMCC Criminal Justice Professor Michelle Ronda. That study will help create a blueprint for the future of Project Impact, mapping out the most ways to serve justice-impacted students at BMCC, and ways to impact the re-entry community more fully.

Staff and mentors with Project Impact assist students as they navigate the challenges of secondary education and connect with a network of campus services such as tutoring and counseling. They also connect students to resources relating to housing and food insecurity, and help guide them through college processes such as registration and applying for financial aid.

“The Project Impact community has at the heart of its mission, a determination to provide BIPOC, first-generation and system-impacted students with the personalized support they need to overcome barriers and achieve their academic goals,” said Karen Wilson-Stevenson, Vice President for Institutional Advancement at BMCC.

“These funds enable us to provide the interventions that keep students enrolled and successfully engaged in college,” says Marva Craig, Vice President of Students Affairs at BMCC. “Through programs like Project Impact, we have built a supportive and engaging community for our justice-impacted students who might also be experiencing food or housing insecurity. We have seen our students thrive with the right supports in place.”

Trinity Church Wall Street is a close neighbor just minutes from BMCC in lower Manhattan, and has generously supported the students of BMCC in other recent funding awards.

These include a gift of over $2 million from Trinity to support housing-insecure and justice-impacted students at BMCC, as well as additional funds provided to help outfit the dorm rooms as students moved in.

“This is a time of great and increasing need in our neighborhood, and across the world,” said the Rev. Phillip A. Jackson, Rector of Trinity Church Wall Street. “Our faith calls on us to use our gifts to help all people, advancing equity and justice in the here and now—and hopefully for generations to come.”

Read more here.

 

About Trinity Church Wall Street:

Trinity Church Wall Street is a vibrant and growing Episcopal parish of more than 1,600 members. Over the past 325 years, Trinity has been guided by its mission to share God’s love for all people. Trinity’s programs seek to offer shared encounters with the holy, to cultivate compassion, to deepen knowledge and spiritual practices, to work for justice rooted in essential human dignity, to provide places of solace and healing, and to inspire a desire in all people to be conscientious contributors to the life of New York City and the world. More than 20 worship services are offered every week online and at historic Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel, the cornerstones of the parish’s community life, worship, and mission.

About Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY:

BMCC is part of the City University of New York (CUNY), awarding associate degrees in more than 50 fields and ranked #1 among community colleges nationwide in granting associate degrees to minority students, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. BMCC is a diverse teaching and learning community committed to advancing equity and the intellectual and personal growth of students. Working to strengthen a culture of care inside and outside the classroom, the faculty and staff of BMCC share a passion for learning with students from around the world, and strive to increase degree completion, successful transfer, career achievement and service and leadership within the BMCC community, New York City, and beyond. Visit: http://www.bmcc.cuny.