Last night I attended a fantastic roof-top party at the Charles and Co. building downtown celebrating the partnership of three amazing Jersey City entities.  On November 30th, New City Kids will be opening an after school program in partnership with Public School #22 and Fountain of Salvation Church in the Lafayette neighborhood (my hood!) of Jersey City.

To just call New City Kids a nonprofit afterschool program would be severely underselling what they do.  Executive Director, Josh Dornbos, spoke passionately about their model of hiring at-risk high school students to mentor younger kids in their neighborhoods. This approach has yielded some serious success stories.  100% of their seniors have graduated high school and gone to college, and 90% of their alumni are currently enrolled in or have graduated college.

P.S. 22 principal and Chicpea favorite, Oscar Velez, was equally enthused about the partnership.  “What is exciting about this partnership is not only that it’s the first of its kind in Jersey City, but that we anticipate it will serve as a prototype for future student programs in the city.”

The final piece of the puzzle is Pastor “Lipe” Fernandez, a prominent and benevolent figure in the Lafayette community.  Because New City Kids is a faith based organization, Pastor Lipe and the Fountain of Salvation Church will be handling spiritual development for the students.

Though they are close to reaching their goal, they are still seeking help funding the program.  If you’re interested in donating to the New City Kids, please click here.