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Eileen Torres named 2022 Empire Whole Health Heroes Award recipient

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Lyft’s Racial Justice Alliance Awards Grants To NYC Organizations From Harlem To Hollis

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PwC Throws Halloween Party For BronxWorks Children

Children sitting around a table enjoying pizza, water bottles, and juice boxes.

In celebration of Halloween, PwC hosted a Halloween Party for BronxWorks children at the Community Center.

Back at full steam for the first time since 2019, over a dozen PwC staff handed out drinks, pizza, and treats in the gymnasium at the community center to children of all ages. Many PwC staff and children dressed in their Halloween best. Superheroes were popular among the kids, while the PwC staff dressed as hot dogs, hamburgers and toast. After eating, children could participate in face painting, pumpkin painting, making a giant cat’s cradle, and Halloween 10-pin bowling. The most-enjoyed activity for the students was turning their fellow students as well as some PwC staff members into toilet paper mummies. A DJ played Halloween tunes all afternoon and ran a few games of musical chairs at the end of the party.

PwC has generously hosted this event for several years. After a modified version last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, BronxWorks and PwC were so happy to bring this annual tradition back at full strength. The children, especially, were full of energy and excitement, running, yelling, and laughing for hours during the event.

“It was a fantastic event,” said BronxWorks Department Director of Children & Youth Services Ursula Cooper-Hunter. “Our students were enthusiastic about this party and getting a chance to celebrate all together in one room. It’s really nice to hold events like these once again and give the students a chance to just be children.”

Erica Lennox, Assurance Director at PwC, said, “PwC looks forward to the Halloween Event at BronxWorks every year. We were very excited to return to the full-scale version of the event this year. Our staff really enjoy interacting with all of the participating children and it is a wonderful opportunity for our firm to give back to the community. We value our ongoing partnership with BronxWorks and look forward to continuing this tradition.”

Two women hand out pizza to a child dressed as a cat.
PwC staff hand out pizza to BronxWorks program children.
Adults, many wearing costumes, stand behind a table filled with water and juice boxes.
PwC Staff at the Halloween pizza party.
Children eating pizza sitting around a table filled with small pumpkins.
BronxWorks children getting ready to paint pumpkins.
Two children wearing Halloween costumes.
BronxWorks children’s costumes ranged from cool to creepy.

Children wave while holding pizza.

A young girl getting her face painted.
PwC staff painted faces of some of the children.
A girl smiles at the camera while painting a pumpkin.
Many students enjoyed painting pumpkins.

A child being wrapped head to toe in toilet paper.

Two students, one wrapped in toilet paper, stand together.
Children loved turning their friends into toilet paper mummies.
A young man wearing a crown getting turned into a toilet paper mummy.
They especially enjoyed turning PwC staff into mummies!

Children sitting around a table enjoying pizza, water bottles, and juice boxes.

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The BronxWorks Emergency Fund

Donate Now!

As we reach the end of the year, please consider supporting our Year-End Appeal by donating to the BronxWorks Emergency Fund.

Thanks to our donors, BronxWorks responds quickly and provides vital services and programs to children, individuals, and families of the Bronx. Together with your support, BronxWorks continues to confront the persistent challenges of food insecurity, unemployment, and housing instability.

In addition, BronxWorks is also responding to the needs of new migrants who have recently joined our community. As an organization dedicated to human dignity, underserved populations, and most importantly, caring for others, BronxWorks is on the frontlines once again.

Throughout our 50 year history, BronxWorks has played a crucial role in supporting the Bronx through unprecedented challenges. In times of adversity, the community looks to BronxWorks, and we have responded.

Hear our participants’ stories!

Two people wearing face masks and smiling. The person on the right is wearing a knit cap.

BronxWorks Welcomed Hundreds of Migrant Families This Year

A man smiling at the camera. There is a sign over his shoulder that says "Jobs Plus"

Kalif S. Overcame Adversity To Provide For His Family

A woman wearing a hooded sweatshirt smiles while many people stand behind her in a line.

Maribel L. Gets Healthy Food from the BronxWorks Food Pantry

Maria R. and her family have been stably-housed for three years.

Sadia M. comes to BronxWorks to be with children like her.

The Morris Innovative Older Adult Center gives Luz R. a new purpose.

Here are some ways you can join BronxWorks and support our mission:

  • Donate to the BronxWorks Emergency Fund (use the form below).
  • Become a recurring donor on Facebook and Meta may match your first two recurring donations if you join by December 31! Make your support felt into 2023!
  • On Amazon, you can choose BronxWorks as your AmazonSmile charity, and Amazon will donate on your behalf every time you make a purchase.
  • Donate essential goods directly to Bronx residents in need through our Amazon Wishlist.
  • Follow us on FacebookInstagram and Twitter for exciting updates.

Give today to the BronxWorks Emergency Fund!

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Announcements

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BronxWorks Children & Youth Department Director Ursula Cooper-Hunter Talks About Pandemic Learning Losses

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BronxWorks Mott Haven Farm Stand offers fresh, affordable produce

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The BronxWorks September 2022 Newsletter

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Angela Rodriguez de Jesus

Angela Rodriguez de Jesus
Angela Rodriguez de Jesus, Program Coordinator, Center for Achieving Future Education (CAFE)

Angela Rodriguez de Jesus is the Program Coordinator for the BronxWorks Center for Achieving Future Education (CAFE) Program. Angela was born in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States when she was seven years old. Like many families, Angela’s came to seek more opportunities, specifically education opportunities, for her and her siblings. It is a story that is so common to the children that grow up in the Bronx, a story that Angela shares with many of her participants in the CAFE Program.

Angela earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology with a Minor in Sociology from City College, and she is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in School Counseling from Lehman College. She joined BronxWorks in May 2019 as an Education Specialist for the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). At the end of the Summer term, Angela joined the CAFE Program as a College Advisor and was promoted to Program Coordinator in June 2021.

We spend so much of our life in school and we spend that time building our character and mentality through the people we meet. For me, that became the setting where I wanted to make an impact and be one of those positive examples for young people growing up today.”

During her tenure with the CAFE Program, Angela worked through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like many programs, CAFE paused all in-person programming and switched to a remote and digital curriculum. Angela and one other College Advisor provided all of the workshops to a cohort of 50 participants in 2020. As the pandemic subsided, Angela helped CAFE expand its programming and staff, adding three College Advisors to focus on retention. As the Program Coordinator, she now supervises a team of eight staff working with over 200 enrolled participants year-round.

I was always interested in why people do certain things. In my work, I am able to mesh education and psychology and help people explore their future selves and that’s what I love about CAFE.”

Now in her work preparing students for future education opportunities, Angela is bringing her own story around full-circle. The common ground that she shares with her participants is part of what makes her so effective as a counselor and advisor. Participants can relate to her story and the expectations that she feels as an immigrant and as one of the first members of her family to go to college.

Outside of work, Angela likes to sing karaoke with her friends. Between work and school, she does strength training and also enjoys cooking new recipes from different countries.

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BronxWorks Celebrates the End of Summer

Three older adults pose for the camera at Holiday Hill Park in Prospect, CT

For BronxWorks programs, the end of the Summer means more than just the return of the Fall and the school year. It also means our end of summer trips, and after a couple of summers without them, you can bet our participants were excited. In this spotlight, we share two trips for BronxWorks participants at different ends of the age spectrum.

BronxWorks Older Adult Centers Visit Holiday Hill Park

Seniors from BronxWorks programs and Older Adult Centers visited Holiday Hill Park in Prospect, CT on August 25 for an end-of-summer celebration! Over 250 BronxWorks seniors enjoyed a number of activities, including dancing, bingo, boating, and the big pool! Breakfast, lunch, dessert, and snacks were provided during the all-day party. BronxWorks seniors were joined by other seniors from across NYC. We had such a wonderful day celebrating with our seniors!

BronxWorks Family Shelters Visit DreamWorks Water Park at American Dream Mall

For their first big trip since the COVID-19 pandemic, the BronxWorks Family Residences celebrated the end of the 2022 Summer by making a splash at the DreamWorks Water Park at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey. The trip was funded through donations raised by our amazing riders in this year’s TD Five Boro Bike Tour. Over a dozen families and staff from all three BronxWorks Family Residences enjoyed time at the water park followed by lunch and activities in the mall. Thank you to our amazing volunteer riders, fundraisers, and everyone who donated to make this trip happen!

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BronxWorks CAFE Program Helps Students Explore Future Education Opportunities

BronxWorks CAFE students at a campus tour at Alfred University in Alfred, NY.

As a Bronx-based organization, a key part of the BronxWorks mission is to provide services that will help break the cycle of poverty within our communities. We offer an array of programs to support the children and youth of the Bronx starting at preschool and running all the way through high school, post-high school and young adulthood. BronxWorks is invested in every stage of our participants’ education and has recently expanded our post-high school and college preparation programming in the Center for Achieving Future Education (CAFE).

BronxWorks CAFE is a program that has helped young people and their families for nearly twenty years with a critical life stage: the transition from high school and/or HSE completion to college. CAFE helps students explore higher education and post-high school opportunities and prepare for their college career. The program provides one-on-one college counseling, SAT prep classes, assistance with college and trade school applications, assistance navigating financial aid and scholarships, college tours and fairs, a variety of workshops covering all aspects of the college application and transition process, and college retention and support services. CAFE works with students throughout the Bronx and other boroughs and shares strong partnerships with Bronx area high schools including Frederick Douglass Academy III, Theatre Arts Production Company School (TAPCo), Validus Preparatory Academy, and Bronx School for Law, Government & Justice (LGJ).

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, CAFE, much like other BronxWorks programs, shifted to virtual programming. Now as the Bronx recovers, CAFE has doubled-down on college and post-high school education opportunities as a way to make generational impact for the students and families of the program. CAFE expanded its programming to include a focus on college retention. Funded through the Robin Hood Foundation, CAFE added three College Success Advisors to provide ongoing engagement and support to participants during their college journeys. Now the BronxWorks CAFE team has a total of eight staff working with over 200 students each year throughout their college exploration, application, transition, and matriculation phases.

I feel extremely proud of the program and the additions we’ve made. A lot of our staff have their own college stories or are the first in their families to attend college and that’s why they are passionate about the work we do.”

-Angela Rodriguez de Jesus,
Program Coordinator, CAFE

CAFE also launched its Summer Bridge program in July 2022, working to prepare first-time college-bound students ages 17-24 with the skills required to be a successful student in college. The program assigns each participant with a designated College Success Advisor that guides them before and during their transition to college, addressing any challenges including academics, financial aid, and navigating campus resources and on-campus living. Students receive one-on-one retention assistance and life skill workshops and, after completing the coursework, a stipend for book and transportation.

BronxWorks CAFE students from Theatre Arts Production Company School show off their college tees.

Our students are awesome and more motivated than ever. They want to hear about all of their opportunities. They are referring their friends to CAFE. They’re attending college tours and trips again. As a group, we held a graduation ceremony celebrating the seniors that are attending college in the coming fall semester.”

All of that work has already made a difference for the participants of CAFE. From the Fall 2021 cohort, 88 of the 120 students remained enrolled for a second year of college. And the recent graduating cohort for Fall 2022 includes acceptances and enrollments to Boston University; Brandeis University; Columbia; Cornell; Fordham; Ithaca College; St. Joseph’s College; Yale; several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs) including Howard University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Lincoln University; as well as the full suite of CUNY and SUNY schools.

We spoke with two recent graduating participants about their college journey and how the CAFE program helped them make decisions and prepare for it.

Emely M. Is Attending Columbia University

Emely M. is attending Columbia University

Emely’s family came to the United States from Mexico when she was six years old and she has lived in the South Bronx ever since. She and her younger sister were raised in a single-parent household by her mother. Emely attended Bronx LGJ High School where she connected with the BronxWorks CAFE Program in the tenth grade.

I always knew I wanted to go to college but I didn’t know where to start or look. CAFE helped me engage with my peer mentors and showed me what college would be like.”

BronxWorks CAFE mentors came to Emely’s class twice a month to present about college opportunities, answer student questions, and distribute resources and information. As she progressed through high school, Emely worked with CAFE staff to set her college goals and ultimately applied to 19 colleges, including CUNY and SUNY schools, University of Rochester, Hamilton College, and Columbia University. Emely was accepted by a number of her schools and decided to enroll at Columbia University for the Fall 2022 semester.

“My first true acceptance was to Hamilton College,” she says. “I got really excited and really emotional. That’s when it set in that I was about to go away. It will be the first time moving out of my mom’s house.”

Emely has spent the past summer in Columbia University’s Academy Success Program, a three-week program designed to help first-time college-bound students adjust to the academic rigor and on-campus lifestyle. She is planning to study biochemistry with a pre-health concentration and to one day apply to dentistry school to become an orthodontist.

My motivation is to help my family get out of poverty and to break the life cycle that my parents lived through. Coming here from Mexico has shown me the opportunities I have here and the support that I’ve received from CAFE and other BronxWorks programs to succeed. I hope that other students can see that as well. Like my sister, she is seeing how if I can do it she can do it too, and she’s really putting her foot in.”

Jared M. Is Attending Alfred University

Jared (left above) was born and raised in the Kingsbridge area of the Bronx. He spent much of his childhood at the St. James Recreation Center and as he got older he also worked there as a mentor, helping the younger kids with their homework and connecting with them through shared experiences. “My parents separated when I was 13 or 14,” Jared says, “I wasn’t prepared for that and it set me back mentally, but I was also able to use that experience to connect with other kids going through the same thing.” For all of his community service, Jared received a Rising Star Award from the Bronx Parks Department. At home, it’s largely the same way. He is the middle child of six siblings and excels in his role of holding the family together.

Jared attended BronxWorks afterschool programs when he was in middle school, and then reconnected with BronxWorks and the CAFE program while he was at the Theatre Arts Production Company High School (TAPCo).

CAFE helped me out a lot. Angela and Elsie were my College Advisors who guided me in high school. At the beginning I didn’t want to go to college at all, but when I decided I wanted to, Elsie sat beside me and helped me fill out my application.”

Ultimately, Jared applied and was accepted to Alfred University. He spent the past summer in the Alfred University Summer Program where he stayed on campus, took classes, and started his work study. He is saving money to purchase his own car and maintain his financial freedom.

I came up here early and at first I was scared. I missed my family and friends so much. It was a big transition for me. But I’m doing better now. I’m already connecting with people and faculty, and making friends. As soon as school starts, I’m hitting the ground running. I can’t wait to start, honestly.”

Even though he has graduated from the CAFE Program, Jared says he still gets emails from Elsie on scholarship information and college resources. Jared plans to study psychology and communications. He wants to become a psych therapist and a motivational speaker one day, building off his earlier experience as a mentor at St. James Rec Center and taking after his grandfather who is a deacon.

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