Astoria Houses Scholarship Fund
rkhuzami Hope you are doing okay during this time!
There is no more respected individual on Hallets peninsular, and for that matter, in Western Queens, than Astoria Houses Residents Association President Claudia Cogar. She has taken the lead in both the physical and spiritual revitalization of our neighborhood, and we at OANA are proud to support her and her many endeavors.
She has asked that we support her most recent project: The creation of NYC Scholarship Accounts for our young people, from Kindergarten to second grade. As she states below, knowing that they have the backing of their community, and the faith that they can accomplish great things, can lead them on a path towards fulfillment of those dreams we all have as young people. And an incentive to avoid those temptations that can lead us astray.
It’s an incredibly exciting undertaking. Ms. Coger and the Tenants Organization have already raised $31K. (Only $103K to go! ?) It would be wonderful if OANA could support and spread the word! All the funding raised goes through NYC Kids RISE into the NYC Scholarship Accounts of the children.
Invest in the Futures of the Children of Our Astoria Houses Community
My name is Claudia Coger and I’m the President of the Astoria Houses Tenants Organization.
Our children are incredible.
We want every single one of them to know that they can achieve anything they set their minds to. Education opens doors to tremendous opportunity. Our youngest need to know that they have a whole community behind them cheering them on.
Three years ago, the Astoria Houses community and communities throughout Western Queens partnered on an initiative that opens and funds universal college savings accounts for every child in public school when they enter kindergarten. Now, nearly every kindergartner, first-grader, and second-grader living in Astoria Houses already has an NYC Scholarship Account with money set aside for their college and career education. So far, a total of more than $21,000 has been deposited into the accounts of these 134 students.
We want this number to be higher.
We have set an initial goal to raise $134,000–enough to deposit another $1,000 into each of these young students’ accounts. This is not only a real financial foundation that our children can rely on in 10+ years when they graduate from high school and set off on their career path. It is also sending them a message TODAY that their community believes in them and knows they can succeed. With all the fear and pain our children are living through right now, that message is in some ways more important than ever.
Photo: Joshua Mcknight
Richard Khuzami
Mr. Khuzami has been a member of Community Board 1 in Astoria, NY for the last 20 years. He sits on the Zoning and parks Committees and is on the Executive Board. Previously, he served as Parks and Culture chair of Community Board 1 for eleven years and also chaired Capital and Expense priority Committee. He is a member of the Queens General Assembly and had been a panelist for grant submissions for the Queens Council on the Arts (QCA). Richard also is an officer of The Eastern Mediterranean Business Culture Alliance (EMBCA) and President of OANA.