Columbus Citizens Foundation offers Grants and Scholarships

The Columbus Citizens Foundation is a non-profit organization in New York City committed to fostering an appreciation of Italian-American heritage and achievement. The Foundation, through a broad range of philanthropic and cultural activities, provides opportunities for advancement to deserving Italian-American students through various scholarship and grant programs. The Foundation organizes New York City's annual Columbus Celebration and Columbus Day Parade, which has celebrated Italian-American heritage on New York's Fifth Avenue since 1929.

The Columbus Citizens Foundation offers Grants and Scholarships to Italian-American students who demonstrate financial need and academic excellence who are entering grades K through 8 or entering High School or College as Freshmen in Fall 2010. The due date is January 11, 2010. Click here to download the application. The website is: http://columbuscitizensfd.org/ .

Congratulations to 5 Students - Radiology Conference

The New York Roentgen Foundation’s annual conference on radiology for NYC students is a unique opportunity for 11th graders and their teachers to participate in a professional conference at Memorial Sloan-Kettering-Rockefeller Research Laboratories. The purpose of the conference is to expose students to careers in radiology, nursing, administration, and technology. Participating students are expected to research and write an essay about the field of radiology. The event culminates in a luncheon where students will have the opportunity to network with the presenters and scientists of the conference. The winning essays will be announced during the luncheon. Cash prizes will be award to the top three essays. All students and participating staff will receive certificates of participation and a gift.

Congratulations to the following students in Mr. Lucci's class on being selected as one of the high schools to participate in the Roentgen Foundation's 7th Annual Conference and Essay Contest for NYC high school juniors:
Jennifer Fox
Brendan Sheridan
Miriam Nosseir
Genacy Moody
Tyreek Penn

New York City Science and Engineering Fair Registration Open

The New York City Science and Engineering Fair Web site is now open and accepting student registrations through December 18. The fair, which is the largest competition of its kind in New York City and which will take place March 7, is open to all NYC high school students who have completed work in an area of scientific research. Students who want more information and who want to register for the fair should visit http://collegenow.cuny.edu/sciencefair or contact Denise McNamara at dmcnama@schools.nyc.gov.

Words that Shook the World Environmental Solutions Eco-Warrior Competition

The Division of Teaching and Learning’s Office of Social Studies and Office of STEM have partnered with the National High School Public Speaking Competition to present the Words that Shook the World Environmental Solutions Eco-Warrior Competition. $54,000 in scholarships, internships and prizes are available to high school students and teachers who submit videos to this competition. There are also opportunities to receive public speaking instruction and visits with communication and environmental experts. The deadline to submit videos is December 22. Contest winners will be announced on January 15. For more information, visit http://www.wordsthatshooktheworld.com/.

The Youth Voices Network at Day One is searching for poets, short story writers, essayists, and other creative writers to showcase the empowerment of New York City high school students to speak out against domestic violence. This cycle’s theme is “A New York City Fairy Tale.” What would a present-day New York City fairy tale look like? How would this feature a healthy relationship – one based on equality and respect?

Click here for the flyer.
Click here for the submission form.
The deadline for this contest cycle is Tuesday, January 19, 2010.

Day One partners with New York City youth to end dating abuse and domestic violence through community education, legal advocacy, supportive services and leadership development. The Youth Voices Network was founded in 2006 to create a space for survivors of teen dating violence to create community-wide awareness on the issue of teen dating violence.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact jsung@dayoneny.org

FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIPS

FOR A LIST OF SCHOLARSHIPS, SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.
THE TWO MAIN FINANCIAL AID FORMS: FAFSA & CSS

I. FAFSA:The Free Application for Federal Student Aid must be filed by ALL Year 2 students applying for financial aid. The FAFSA can be filed as early as January 1 of Y2 (it is not available before) and we encourage families to file by January 15th or February 1st at the latest (check with the schools for their deadlines). Families should use the previous year’s income tax return forms and estimate, to the best of their knowledge, any changes. If need be, a FAFSA correction can be filed once the current year’s tax return is completed. Students can enter up to six schools on the FAFSA. Additional schools can be added by using the FAFSA correction form. Paper FAFSAs will be available in the CTO this December. However, online filing (www.fafsa.ed.gov) is recommended—it speeds up the financial aid process significantly.

FAFSA HOTLINE: 1-800-433-3243 (Open Monday thru Friday from 8 am-12:00 midnight, and Sat. 9 am - 6 pm). If you are filling out the FAFSA and have questions, this is a great resource.

IMPORTANT FAFSA LINGO:
• EFC: The Estimated Family Contribution is the amount of money the federal government determines a family can pay for college based on the information filed in the FAFSA. The EFC is the same regardless of variable tuition, room, board and fees at different schools. PREDICT YOUR EFC WITH THE FAFSA-4-CASTER!
• SAR: The Student Aid Report summarizes the information reported on the FAFSA. If the FAFSA was filed correctly, the EFC will be included in the SAR. Schools review a student’s SAR and EFC to come up with a financial aid package.

II. CSS PFOFILE: The CSS or College Scholarship Search Profile is an additional financial aid form that is required by some schools--typically private colleges. The form must be filed in addition to the FAFSA. It can be filed as early as this October at www.collegeboard.com (under “Pay for College”). To find out whether a school requires it, go to the Profile link on the collegeboard website for a list, or check with the individual college.

CSS HOTLINE: 1-800-239-5888 (Open Monday thru Friday, 9 am - 6 pm). This is a great resource if you are filling out the CSS Profile and have questions.

FOUR TYPES OF FINANCIAL AID (SEE BELOW FOR SCHOLARSHIPS)

Financial Aid Package: Students receive a letter, directly from the accepting institution with their financial aid package. Ideally, the financial aid package meets the difference between the total cost of attendance (tuition, room, board, books, fees) and a families’ EFC. To meet this difference, colleges offer a combination of some or all of the items listed below.

1. Grants are funds that do not need to be paid back and do not require an application. They are often awarded by the accepting institution. Depending on need and eligibility, there are also the following federal and state grants.
• Federal Pell Grant: The maximum award for the 2005-06 year was $4,050. The maximum is subject to change. The amount a student receives is dependent not only on financial need, but also the costs to attend school.
• TAP: The New York State Tuition Assistance Program provides up to $5,000 for New York residents to attend schools in New York State.
• HEOP: Private Colleges in N.Y. State have HEOP or Higher Education Opportunity Programs that offer excellent academic and financial support for students who meet the financial eligibilty requirements (for e.g.: to be eligible, the income for a family of four will be $32,000 or below). Click here for details of the program and a list of schools.

2. Work Study: A federal program that gives students financial assistance through campus employment.

3. Loans: Financial aid that must be paid back
• Stafford Loans: these can be subsidized (the government pays the interest while a student is in school) or unsubsidized (the student pays all the interest, although they can defer payment until after graduation). Stafford Loans are awarded based financial need.
• Perkins Loan: This is awarded to students with exceptional financial need.
• PLUS Parent Loan
• Private Loans

For further details, visit: http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloan.phtml
Student aid packages can differ significantly and often play an important role in where a students choose to continue their education. For this reason, it is important to compare packages carefully. Advice on comparing packages is available at: “Comparing Financial Aid Packages” at www.collegeboard.com.
Financial aid web resources:
www.studentaid.ed.gov
www.finaid.org
www.collegeboard.com (“Paying for College” section)
www.hesc.org
www.petersons.com
www.princetonreview.com
www.nycolleges.org
www.foundationcenter.org
www.uncf.org

Helpful Phone Numbers:

FAFSA HOTLINE: 1-800-433-3243 (Open Monday thru Friday from 8 am-12:00 midnight, and Sat. 9 am - 6 pm). If you are filling out the FAFSA and have questions, this is a great resource.

CSS HOTLINE: 1-800-239-5888 (Open Monday thru Friday, 9 am - 6 pm). This is a great resource if you are filling out the CSS Profile and have questions.

4. Scholarships are funds that do not need to be paid back. Sometimes scholarships are awarded by the accepting institution. Students often apply for outside scholarships offered by community organizations, foundations, corporations, employers and the like.

There are many scholarship web resources, some of our favorites include:
• One of the best scholarship resources is the New Visions Guide to Scholarships for NYC Students. Click here to download. A limited number of copies are also available in the CTO.
• Another fantastic scholarship resource, that includes links to scholarship websites and to specific scholarships, is posted by the OPTIONS program at Goddard Riverside. Click here to go to their site.
• The BHSEC calendar has a limited number of scholarships posted. There are many events on the calendar though, so to make your search specific to scholarships, go to the search function along the upper right of the page and type "scholarship" (not scholarships). This will generate a list of scholarships. Click here for the BHSEC calendar.
• www.fastweb.com
• http://www.intellistudent.com/academiclife/scholarships.php
• Unusual Scholarships
• www.hesc.com
• www.foundationcenter.com
• www.uncf.com (United Negro College Fund)
• www.hsf.net (Hispanic Scholarship Fund)
• www.wiredscholar.com

Green Construction Training Program

STRIVE is recruiting for its Green Construction Training Program – Starts Friday, January 8th, 2010!

STRIVE has been a recognized leader in securing jobs for the chronically unemployed for over 24 years. We currently operate one of the most comprehensive Green Construction Training programs for the hard-to-employ in New York City. This training cohort has been exclusively designed for disconnected youth ages 18 to 24.

You must enroll by Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 12 noon.

STRIVE’s Green Construction Training Program is a holistic program – and includes the following components:
--- CORE+ (Soft-Skills, Career Development, Job Readiness, Computers, Customer Service, Civics) (120 hours)

--- Green Speaker Series: Intro to Global Warming (3 hours)

--- Green Speaker Series: Green Jobs Overview (1 hour - overview)

--- Green Speaker Series: Environmental Justice (1 hour - overview)

--- Basic Construction: Electrical (35 hours)

--- Basic Construction: Carpentry (35 hours)

--- Basic Construction: Plumbing (35 hours)

--- OSHA Construction Health/Safety (10 hours)

--- HAZWOPER - Hazardous Waste (40 hours)

--- OSHA - Confined Space (16 hours)

--- Asbestos Abatement (32 hours)

--- Energy Auditing (35 hours)

--- Weatherization: Building Retro-fits, Energy Audits, Air Leak Testing, Insulation (35 hours)

--- Solar / Photo Voltaic Installation (35 hours)

--- Green Custodial Building Maintenance Training


The program is 14 weeks in length and is for both men and women – ages 18 to 24. Participants must have a strong desire to work in the construction industry and be physically fit (see below). Carfare will be provided for the entire 14 weeks and a modest stipend will be paid during the hard skills portion of the program (the last 8 weeks). All participants must complete the month long CORE+ component in order to be eligible for construction training.

In addition, applicants must:
--- Be between the ages of 18 and 24.

--- Have no physical barriers to working in the construction industry (and be able to lift at least 50 lbs.).

--- Achieve a 6th grade reading and 6th grade math level on the TABE Survey (testing will take place at STRIVE).

--- Be carefully assessed and interviewed by STRIVE staff before being accepted in the program.

Please refer qualified participants to STRIVE at 240 E. 123rd St. / 3rd Fl. (Manhattan) Monday through Friday between 9am and 4pm – or call (212) 360-1100.

Click here to see the NY1 segment on STRIVE’s Green Construction Training Program.