February 18, 2022
In December 2021, Robin Hood, a non-profit organization that fights poverty in New York City and has provided assistance to one million New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19, awarded $1.2 million to Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC/CUNY) for the launch of the project, IT and Healthcare Opportunities through Programs in Education (IHOPE).
Over an 18-month period, IHOPE will serve 180 participants who are 25 years of age and older, and 25% of those served will be single mothers or home health aides.
Other students — including the justice involved, immigrants and individuals who have lost jobs as a result of the pandemic — will be recruited through IHOPE’s community partners.
Most of the programming will take place at BMCC’s recently expanded CUNY in The Heights campus at 5030 Broadway in Upper Manhattan.
The IHOPE initiative will recruit and place individuals into jobs with family sustaining wages and careers with continued opportunities for growth as well as stability.
Participants will be provided with technical skills workshops, career exploration, paid internships, tutoring, basic needs support in the form of childcare, counseling, food emergency funding, and industry-specific workshops in communication, teamwork, critical thinking for information technology and more.
Among other benefits, IHOPE participants will gain credits that carry into associate degree programs at BMCC.
Students who complete the Certified Nurse Assistant training will accrue nine credits towards an Associate in Science (A.S.) degree in Community or Public Health at BMCC. Those who complete the Cybersecurity Certificate program will earn three credits towards an Associate of Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) degree in Computer Network Technology.
Students who complete the Licensed Practical Nursing Certificate will be prepared to apply for the Associate of Applied Sciences (A.A.S.) in Nursing degree program at BMCC. Other IHOPE certificate training options include Basic EKG and Phlebotomy for Health Professionals, and Medical Billing and Coding.
“With the understanding that talent is equally distributed, but opportunities are not, BMCC envisions this project not as a one-off, one-time project, but rather as an initiative to be operationalized across the College for the benefit of all BMCC students,” said Christopher Shults, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Strategic Planning.
“Our funding partners make it more possible for us to put into action, a strategic plan that charges us to bolster the bridge between academic programming and higher-wage careers,” said BMCC President Anthony E. Munroe. “Together, we empower student agency in shaping their own higher education path that moves toward meaningful and family-sustaining professions. We reimagine successful program models in order to better serve our lowest-income students, our non-traditional and returning students, students who are from Black, Brown and immigrant communities where tomorrow’s leaders will emerge.”
The BMCC IT and Healthcare Opportunities through Programs in Education (IHOPE) relates to BMCC’s Strategic Plan, including but not limited to Strategic Goal 4: Improve completion and transfer rates through integrated support services, and Strategic Goal 3: Integrate Career Development Throughout the Student Experience.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- In December 2021, Robin Hood, a non-profit organization that fights poverty in New York City, awarded $1.2 million to BMCC for the launch of the project IT and Healthcare Opportunities through Programs in Education (IHOPE).
- Over an 18-month period, IHOPE will serve 180 participants who are 25 years of age and older, and 25% of those served will be single mothers or home health aides.
- Among other benefits, IHOPE participants will gain credits that carry into associate degree programs at BMCC.
