42 THE QUEENS COURIER • OCTOBER 28, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
LaGuardia Community College embarks on ambitious fundraiser
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
LaGuardia Community College has
launched a $15 million fundraising campaign
District 26 students can enter
Halloween Essay and Poetry Contest
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
Th is spooky season, a northeast
Queens lawmaker is calling on local students
to get into the creative spirit.
On Tuesday, Oct. 5, Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein announced the
return of his annual Halloween Essay and
Poetry Contest for District 26 students in
grades two through fi ve. All written submissions
should have a Halloween theme,
like an essay about a favorite trick-ortreat
experience or a short story or poem
related to the holiday.
Similar to the lawmaker’s other holiday
themed contests, district-wide prizes
will be given to students in each
grade and New York State Assembly
Certifi cates of Merit will be awarded to
all who participate.
“I’m delighted to invite northeast
Queens students to get creative and display
their writing skills this holiday by
sharing a Halloween-themed essay or
poem with my offi ce,” Braunstein said. “I
look forward to reading your entries as
we prepare to celebrate the holiday.”
Assembly District 26 includes
Auburndale, Bay Terrace Bayside,
Bayside Hills, Broadway-Flushing,
Douglaston, Floral Park, Glen Oaks,
Little Neck, New Hyde Park, North
Shore Towers, Oakland Gardens and
Whitestone.
Students interested in participating
should print their full name, grade
and school on their entry and submit
essays and poems to the assemblyman’s
offi ce by Monday, Nov. 1.
Entries can be any size or format
and can be mailed to 213-33 39th
Ave., Suite 238, Bayside, NY 11361,
emailed to braunsteine@nyassembly.gov
or faxed to 718-357-5947.
For questions, call
Assemblyman
Braunstein’s
offi ce at
718-357-
3588.
to help New Yorkers who lost their
jobs or faced other hardships during the
COVID-19 pandemic get back on track
through higher education. LaGuardia’s
Tomorrow Campaign will help more New
Yorkers get the training they desperately
want to pursue new jobs or upskill to
advance in their current positions.
Th e Tomorrow Campaign is galvanized
by an anonymous donor who pledged $5
million, which will be the Long Island
City-based college’s largest donation to
date if LaGuardia raises $10 million by
the end of the year. Tomorrow funds will
signifi cantly expand resources to support
students with tuition scholarships, gap
grants (for non-tuition grants like books,
MetroCards and childcare), internship
support including stipends, technology
support (laptop loans and Wi-Fi hotspots)
and more. Ninety-fi ve percent of funds
raised will go directly to students.
“We’re aiming high with this ambitious
fundraising campaign because of
the urgent need to help New Yorkers get
back on their feet. Th e $15 million will
transform the lives of LaGuardia students
and create a new talent pool for New York
City employers,” LaGuardia Community
College President Kenneth Adams said.
“Th e impact of gift s to Tomorrow will be
felt immediately by hardworking, resilient
students who are striving to better themselves,
their families and our city — setting
them up for a better tomorrow.”
LaGuardia serves over 30,000 students
a year in associate degree, accelerated
workforce, pre-college and high school
equivalency programs. Many come
to LaGuardia eager to build a better
life, with a majority of students living
below the poverty line, earning less
than $30,000 per year, and many others
are immigrants or fi rst-generation
college students.
Financial support can mean the
diff erence between graduating or
dropping out of college, or
staying in a minimum
wage job versus securing
better employment.
Tomorrow funds
will be available to all
LaGuardia students,
regardless of immigration
or citizenship
status, in both
degree and nondegree
programs.
“By raising $15
million we will
increase support
available for
LaGuardia students
by 500% —
in recent years we raised approximately
$3 million annually — and given the
toll of COVID-19, it’s needed,” LaGuardia
Foundation Board Chair Suzie Scanlon
Rabinowitz, Esq. said. “We are incredibly
grateful for the generous donors who have
helped us raise $4.8 million to date for
Tomorrow. We are asking friends of the
college, corporate partners, philanthropies
and LaGuardia
alumni, faculty
and staff to help
us raise the
$5.2 million
still needed
to qualify
for the $5
million gift .
Please join
us today.”
Accelerated workforce training programs,
oft en provided with the school’s
industry partners, and pre-college programs
are provided through LaGuardia’s
Adult and Continuing Education
Division. Students who complete these
programs oft en go straight into well-paying
jobs or enter college ready to succeed.
However, as non-degree programs, there
are no federal or state programs to help
them pay their tuition.
“Our workforce training programs are
vital to helping students get back to work,
and we are proud to be one of the fi rst community
colleges to off er scholarships specifi
cally for non-degree students,” Adams
said. “Without emergency aid, unexpected
fi nancial burdens can lead to students
dropping out of school. Whereas, students
who receive aid from the LaGuardia
Foundation are three times more likely to
graduate than general students.”
Computer science major Sabiha Farheen
is a case in point having received support
from the LaGuardia Foundation during
the height of the pandemic when her
parents lost their hospitality jobs. Aft er
working as a home health aide, a barista
and other jobs including one at a salad
store, Farheen landed at LaGuardia
and excelled with a GPA of around 3.6
and an internship in media.
“Once I fi gured out what I wanted
to do, it drove me to do as best as
possible,” Farheed said. “My family
and I are so thankful to LaGuardia.
Th e scholarship, grocery money and
my paid internship at CNBC helped
me keep my family afl oat during a
scary time. And I was able to stay in
school and even gain valuable work experience.
Now I’m on track to graduate from
LaGuardia in December and transfer to a
four-year college for my bachelor’s, and
then start my career in tech.”
To learn more about LaGuardia
Community College’s Tomorrow Campaign,
or to make a donation, visit laguardia.edu/
tomorrow.
Photo via Getty
Images
Photo courtesy of LaGuardia Community College
LaGuardia Community College is launching an ambitious fundraising campaign
to help more students like Sabiha Farheen get back on track after the pandemic
through higher education.
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