United Way Awarded $5 Million For Education United Afterschool Program

United Way of Westchester and Putnam was awarded a $5 million grant by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services through its Learning and Enrichment After-School Program Supports (LEAPS) to expand its offering of the Education United Afterschool Academic and Enrichment program at W.L. Morse School in Tarrytown and Highview Elementary School in Greenburgh.

The LEAPS funding supports community-based after-school programs that provide academic enrichment, promote social-emotional wellness, and foster community engagement while offering students mentorship and life skills training. The award is for $1 million annually over the next five years. The LEAPS grant will serve over 300 students.

“We appreciate that the NYS Office of Children and Family Services identified our Education United program as a transformational opportunity to help underprivileged children and their families living in poverty or paycheck-to-paycheck to get the support they need for academic success,” said Tom Gabriel, United Way President and CEO.

The Education United program is free to families and offers a range of activities to support academic achievement, including homework help, arts and crafts, fitness and wellness activities, social-emotional learning activities, STEM activities, and more in both English and Spanish. For parents of the program participants, the program offers a range of services, including free Lyft transportation, work readiness and career awareness, and access to United Way’s essential goods distribution. In addition, parents do not need to worry about after-school care or snacks while their children are in the program, which helps to reduce those costs for families.