The KeyBank Foundation announced a transformative grant of $240,000 to Westhab, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building communities. This multi-year grant aims to create a pipeline to college and careers for low-income students from the Dayspring Community Center.
About the organizations
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Westhab, states it’s commitment to “Building Communities. Changing Lives.” Since its founding in 1981, Westhab has been addressing the affordable housing crisis by transforming vacant buildings into transitional and permanent housing. Over the years, Westhab has expanded its services to include employment programs and youth services to break the cycle of poverty. To date, Westhab has created over a thousand homes and served tens of thousands of youth in after-school activities.
KeyBank Foundation supports organizations and programs that prepare people for thriving futures. With its funding centered around education and workforce development, the Foundation backs solutions with targeted philanthropic investments in youth programs.
The grant
Scheduled to kick off in September 2024, the newly-funded program supports 30 students ranging from 9th to 12th grade. These students from the Dayspring youth program will be equipped with an array of new tools and resources. This support empowers them to proactively explore the post-secondary paths that align with their aspirations and talents.
“This investment is precisely what our neighborhood needs,” expressed JC Soto, Director of Dayspring Community Center. “Nodine Hill, nestled in Southwest Yonkers where Dayspring resides, faces a staggering poverty rate that surpasses double the county average. By enhancing college readiness and offering resources to develop skills for careers with sustainable wages, we are paving the way for our teens to secure better life outcomes encompassing health, wealth, and happiness.”
The program’s development will be steered by Westhab in collaboration with Yonkers Partners In Education (YPIE). This neighboring nonprofit excels at guiding students through the journey of college enrollment and completion. With this academic support and guidance on the college application process, YPIE positions students for success in higher education.
Samuel Wallis, Executive Director of YPIE, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership.
We are thrilled to join forces with Westhab in ensuring that the teens at Dayspring Community Center are equipped for triumphs both in college and careers. Meeting students at the heart of their community is paramount, and we eagerly anticipate working within the trusted space of Dayspring. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to KeyBank for their generous support, making this partnership and crucial service for students a reality.
Over the span of three years, the program aims not only to uplift individual students but also to catalyze substantial shifts in the community’s trajectory. “This generous investment by KeyBank Foundation holds the promise of not just transforming individual lives but of nurturing a sustained culture of college readiness among high school students,” further remarked Mr. Soto.
With the funding of this visionary initiative, Westhab and its partners stand poised to empower the underserved youth of Yonkers.
Our ambition is to broaden horizons and disrupt the cycles of inequality entrenched in Nodine Hill.
JC Soto – Director of Dayspring Community Center
