Kingsborough Community College (KCC) Awarded $1.8 Million Grant to Implement new Social Innovation Fund Program

KCC competitively selected as Social Innovation Fund (SIF) provider to implement the Young Adult Program, an education-conditioned paid internship program

BROOKLYN, N.Y., April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kingsborough Community College (KCC) today announced that it has been awarded a $l.8 million grant  by the CEO and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City to implement a new program for young adults as part of the federal Social Innovation Fund.  The Young Adult Program helps unemployed 18- to 24-year-olds who are currently out of school and lack a high school degree or GED to re-engage in productive activities through a combination of educational opportunities, paid internships, and case management as a pathway to long-term economic self-sufficiency.  KCC is one of 18 providers selected by CEO and the Mayor's Fund to replicate CEO's most promising programs in cities across the county.  Funding is provided by the federal Social Innovation Fund, a new public-private partnership designed to expand effective programs, and private funders, including Bloomberg Philanthropies and Open Society Foundations.

"We are delighted that KCC, the only New York college provider, has been selected to create and implement a program to help young disenfranchised men and women to re-engage in meaningful, productive activity in a manner that leads to long-term economic self-sufficiency and self-pride," said Dr. Regina Peruggi, president of KCC.

As a provider and recipient of the four-year grant, KCC  will provide paid internships, educational opportunities, and support for 200 disconnected 18- to 24-year-olds in the New York City area. KCC Center for Economic and Workforce Development (CEWD) will manage the grant. MDRC, a nonprofit social policy and research organization, will assist with the implementation and conduct an evaluation of the program.

"We look forward to expanding the KCC tradition of serving young adults with innovative programs," said Dr. Stuart Schulman, executive director of KCC CEWD.

About Kingsborough Community College:

Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn's only community college, is located on a 70-acre campus in Manhattan Beach, on the southern tip of Brooklyn. The breathtaking campus overlooks three bodies of water:  Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  It serves approximately thirty thousand students per year, offering a wide range of credit and non-credit courses in the liberal arts, career education, and specialized programs

Contact: Ruby Ryles
Kingsborough Community College
718-368-5543
[email protected]

SOURCE Kingsborough Community College