We currently run two programs:

- Formerly Incarcerated Young Adults
- Academically Precocious Youth

Formerly Incarcerated Young Adults
Through referrals from trusted organizations such as Friends of Island Academy, The Foyer and Good Shepherd, we identify young adults (18-30) who have already been incarcerated at Riker’s Island as kids, and now are committed to learning the skills needed to get and keep a legitimate job and become a productive citizen.

When a formerly-incarcerated young adult comes to us, the first thing we do is give him/her a $2 pocket calendar so that he can track all his appointments, a $20 watch with an alarm (if he doesn’t already have one) so that he can wake up for any appointment, a $25 fabric briefcase to carry his resume and work/school materials, and a $150 set of business clothes from Kmart (shoes, belt, 2 pants and 4 collared shirts) that he must wear whenever he goes to work, school or the Foundation. We then bring him to the bank and help him open up a checking/savings account with a debit card, so that he can start to save money and track his expenditures. We provide him with a subsistence stipend that is tied to on-time daily attendance at the Foundation, so that he will have enough money for food, basic housing and the use of public transportation, while at the same time learning the ever-important principle of showing up early and everyday. We coach him to help him solve the myriad (but often very basic) problems that face him in his daily life. And we begin to teach him the behavior that will allow him to get and keep a job — dress well, speak well and show up early!

Dressing well means wearing shoes, correctly-fitting pants and collared shirt, and no hat or head covering. Speaking well means looking co-workers in the eye and saying hello/goodbye to them at the beginning/end of each day, saying the words “excuse me”, “please” and “thank you” whenever asking a question or asking for something, and looking for excuses to be polite by holding a door, giving up a seat on the subway, etc. Showing up early means targeting being 30 minutes early. That way if there is any unforeseen delay in transportation, he will still arrive early.

Once he has mastered this behavior (which usually takes only a few days), he begins to look for work. Once he has secured an entry-level unskilled labor job (we are proud to say that most of our participants get the very first job they interview for), he continues to come to the Foundation to learn a trade skill both in classes that we provide and through internships that we arrange, so that he can get a better-paying job and begin a career. Once he has secured a trade job, he continues to come to the Foundation where he studies basic academics (math, reading and writing) so that he can get a GED, enter college, and continue to improve his job prospects.

As he progresses, we continue to teach and coach him in ever-more-advanced life skills — communicating effectively, maintaining healthy relationships, tracking personal finances, etc. He in turn helps in the teaching and coaching of the newer participants. We call it “each one, teach one.”

Our philosophy is that we “make money in order to have fun and do good.” When a participant brings another along the pathway to success, he knows that he has done good. And we have yet to see one instance where he doesn’t enjoy that feeling immensely.

Academically Precocious Youth

Through referrals from other organizations (in particular the Center for Talented Youth run by Johns Hopkins University), we identify the brightest 14-17 year olds in the poorest neighborhoods of New York. We then mentor these kids to insure that they make it “out” to excellent boarding schools and universities. We also provide grants to CTY so that these exceptional students can attend CTY’s advanced academic summer boot-camp.

Administration
We have no paid administrative staff. In this way, more of our dollars go directly to serve the people who need them most.