June is a time of graduation, a time of honors and awards. Students see their hard work pay off---by moving on to a new school, a next step or simply being recognized for work well done.

Students in the Leading to College (LTC) program received such recognition this month, at the program's fifth annual Stepping-Up Ceremony.  Leading to College, located at the School for Democracy and Leadership (SDL) in Wingate, Brooklyn, is a college preparation program that helps economically disadvantaged students prepare for college life.

At this month's Stepping-Up Ceremony, more than 40 students, including 18 graduates, were recognized for moving on to the next stage in their academic careers. The ceremony featured 10th and 11th graders "stepping up" to the next grade and a 2014 graduating class heading to schools both near and far, from CUNY campuses around New York City to out-of-state institutions like Emory University, Amherst College and Georgetown University. 

LTC participants on a college visit

Funded by the Teagle Foundation, Leading to College is a partnership among CAMBA, SDL and Brooklyn College. The program provides pre-college and college-level academic instruction, social support, financial aid application assistance and organized college visits for students and their families. 

Luce Olivier, a 2014 graduate from East Flatbush, spent the last three years in Leading to College and credits the program with paving her road to college. Olivier hopes to become a lawyer and has received a full academic scholarship to Georgetown University, where she will start in the fall.

"Leading to College was essential to exposing me to college," said Olivier. "The program made the process a lot easier for me... and it made everything more concrete." 

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Three students in CAMBA's Learning to Work program at Cascades High School were honored this month at a ceremony at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The students received medals from the School Art League, an organization that partners with the NYC Department of Education to "honor New York City public high school students for excellence in visual arts through educational programs, awards and scholarships."

CAMBA's students received medals for distinction in visual arts, excellence in drawing and for showing "the most growth and potential in the field of visual arts." 

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Elsewhere... CAMBA's Adult Literacy Center held its First Annual Student Recognition Ceremony. Honorees were recognized for receiving their GEDs, becoming U.S. citizens and being exceptional students in their respective classes. Volunteers with the Adult Literacy Program were also recognized for assisting students in reaching their technology and English language learning goals. The event was held in the Flatbush Reformed Church and was attended by current and graduating students, staff and special guests, including NYC Councilmember Mathieu Eugene.

"For the students who passed their GED or earned U.S. citizenship, it was exciting to be recognized for their hard work," said Mara Raizer, CAMBA Adult Basic Education Program Supervisor. 

CAMBA congratulates all of this year's education & youth program participants! 

Last year, 2,127 New York City families and individuals who were teetering on the brink of homelessness turned to CAMBA in desperation.

Our tireless HomeBase staff helped almost all of them remain in their homes - and out of the City's shelter system. 

Next year, HomeBase will be able to help almost twice as many clients, thanks to an additional $3.6 million in funding, awarded by the NYC Department of Homeless Services. The new funding will allow HomeBase to hire more staff for our current Brooklyn and Staten Island programs and enable us to open a new location in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

HomeBase staff offer individualized assistance to help clients keep the roofs over their heads, with such services as family or tenant/landlord mediation; emergency rental assistance; job training and placement; help obtaining benefits such as child care, food stamps, tax credits, public health insurance; and much more.

"We will continue to provide prevention services, aftercare services to those who move out of shelter into permanent housing at NYCHA, and to renew subsidies for working families leaving shelter," said Melissa Mowery, Director of the HomeBase program.

"With this additional funding, we hope to make more of a community impact and decrease the incidence of homelessness for those at imminent risk of shelter."