Daemen College : News : News Releases
Daemen Receives Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Grant
Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo Grant Awarded to
Daemen for Refugee Teen Empowerment Program -- Will Help
Make High School Graduation, College Education Possible
for Many Students
August 24, 2010
Media
Contact: Mike Andrei
Director-College Relations
(716) 839-8472
mandrei@daemen.edu
Cheryl Bird
Executive Director
Daemen Center for Sustainable Communities &
Civic Engagement
(716) 839-8489
cbird@daemen.edu
Daemen College has received a grant of $29,042 from the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo for the College’s Refugee Teen Empowerment Program, coordinated by the Daemen Center for Sustainable Communities & Civic Engagement.
Since 2003, Daemen College students and faculty have provided direct services to refugees living on the West Side of Buffalo through the Daemen College-West Side Partnership. The grant will make high school diplomas, and a college education, possible for refugee students who come to Buffalo after escaping strife, and, often, war in their native countries.
The focus of the Daemen Refugee Teen Empowerment Program is Regents Exam preparation and high school graduation, accomplished through tutoring sessions coordinated by the Daemen Center for Sustainable Communities & Civic Engagement. Students in the Daemen Service Learning Program serve as mentors as well as tutors to refugee students enrolled at Buffalo’s Lafayette High School, offering exposure to college life and the possibility of college after high school. The program has been very successful and influential in the lives of refugee youth.
“This grant will have a lasting impact on the refugee youth who dream of attending college, but find it so difficult to pass the Regents examinations,” noted Cheryl Bird, Executive Director of the Daemen Center for Sustainable Communities & Civic Engagement.
“Most of the students we work with have spent their lives in refugee camps, with little education available to them, but still have the same accountability as native born US students for testing after one year in the country. This award will play a significant role in helping these refugees graduate from high school and achieve their dream of college.”
From January 2010 through June 2010, 88% of the participants who were seniors (15 students) successfully graduated from high school. Grant funds will be used toward pay for the program’s teachers and advisor; bus tokens; program materials; supplies for students; and indirect costs.
The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (CFGB) is a public charity holding more than 800 different charitable funds, large and small, established by individuals, families, nonprofit agencies and businesses to benefit Western New York. Since 1919, the Foundation has served the needs of this community and the wishes of their donors through personalized service, financial stewardship, local expertise, and community leadership. For additional information visit: www.cfgb.org.
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