Michelle Mullen<\/p>\n
The Riverdale Neighborhood House, or RNH, received a $70,000 grant for initiatives that help Bronx high schoolers overcome barriers to higher education and post-graduate success.<\/p>\n
The funding, secured by State Sen. Gustavo Rivera, will bolster the nonprofit\u2019s academic and workforce development programs: College Directions and the Youth Internship Program. Both are offered at no cost and have become essential pathways for teens navigating college applications, financial aid and career exploration.<\/p>\n
Under the direction of postsecondary program manager Omar Acevedo, College Directions pairs each student with mentors to map out academic goals and financial options. Participants receive SAT prep, essay support and guidance on applying for scholarships \u2014 among a long list of other services.<\/p>\n
The program also hosts campus visits and workshops with college directions alumni who share firsthand experiences about adjusting to college life.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe want them to see that higher education isn\u2019t out of reach,\u201d Acevedo said.<\/p>\n
Ninety-eight percent of participants go on to college, trade school or full-time employment, far higher than the roughly 64 percent of high school graduates going on tocollege nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cSome students we work with are first-generation college-goers, and many come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds,\u201d Acevedo said. \u201cWhen they see someone who\u2019s been there and made it through, it gives them confidence to take that next step, even if it\u2019s outside their comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Youth Internship Program, meanwhile, places students in paid positions across the Bronx in fields such as health care, education, communication and business.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each placement is matched to a student\u2019s interest and skill level. Interns work up to 10 hours a week during the school year and attend weekly workshops focused on professional development, covering topics like r\u00e9sum\u00e9 writing, workplace etiquette and time management.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midway through the year, each participant completes a reflection project tying their experience to future goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe program helps young people earn money, build confidence, and gain clarity about their futures,\u201d Acevedo said. \u201cBut most importantly, it gives them a network of people who believe in them and want to see them succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
The initiative\u2019s reach continues to grow. What began with fewer than 100 applicants drew more than 500 this year \u2014 a sign of how scarce such opportunities remain across the city, Acevedo noted. RNH hopes to expand the program further, but each additional internship slot at places like Montefiore Hospital costs about $2,000 to fund.<\/p>\n
Rivera told The Press he was drawn to support RNH because of the program\u2019s wide-reaching impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just for one thing,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s supporting a whole crew of young people who will then be placed in all sorts of places.\u201d<\/p>\n
He called it \u201ca great investment in public involvement,\u201d that connects teens with opportunities not readily available to many.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese kids are getting experiences they wouldn\u2019t have had in any other situation,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what makes this investment so worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\t\tKeywords<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tRiverdale Neighborhood House,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx youth programs,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t College Directions RNH,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Youth Internship Program Bronx,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Gustavo Rivera grant,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t free college prep NYC,\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t Bronx student support\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michelle Mullen The Riverdale Neighborhood House, or RNH, received a $70,000 grant for initiatives that help Bronx high…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,10277,10272,10273,10276,10275,9,24,63,10271,129,131,130,10274],"class_list":["post-13564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-student-support","tag-bronx-youth-programs","tag-college-directions-rnh","tag-free-college-prep-nyc","tag-gustavo-rivera-grant","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-riverdale-neighborhood-house","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news","tag-youth-internship-program-bronx"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}