Bed-Stuy School's 'HBCU Empower Tour' Wins Neighborhood Grant

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — A Bed-Stuy project helping students visit historically Black colleges and universities will get a boost this year from the Neighborhood School Grants program.

Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School was one of 28 Brooklyn schools chosen by the Walentas Family Foundation this year to receive the grant, which gives between $7,500 and $20,000 to supplementary programs that often are uncovered in limited school budgets.

At Uncommon, the money will go toward what is known as the HBCU Empower Tour, or an effort to bring students to Black college campuses.

The grant will fund travel and accommodation costs for the visits.

"...Providing all students with access to college tours and information is critical," the organization wrote. "This program is particularly valuable in that as of 2019, only 29% of the black population (25-29 years old) held a bachelor's degree, as opposed to 45% of the white population in the same age range."

Other projects funded through this year's grants include restorative justice training at P.S. 261, Philip Livingston Elementary School in Downtown Brooklyn, after-school art programs at The Bedford Village Elementary School in Clinton Hill, a school garden at Conselyea Preparatory School Middle School in Williamsburg and a wellness project at Ten Eyck Elementary School in Bushwick South, according to Walentas.

The Neighborhood School Grants program has allocated $3 million in grants since it began in 2013 to Brooklyn's 13th, 14th and 15th school districts.

The Walentas Family Foundation was established by the Walentas Family, the founders of development group Two Trees Management.