Officials: Future Uncertain for Town of Rye Social Research Program

A 4-year-old program that advocates say helps Town of Rye youth seeking admission to college is facing a financial shortfall, officials say.

“Tools for Change” has helped dozens of Port Chester, Blind Brook and Rye Neck students hone a skill that advocates for the program say is increasingly important to leading colleges: possessing both analytical skills and what they call “diversity capital,” or the ability to “work creatively with people from different backgrounds,” according to a press release.”

The program is facing a financial shortfall and needs $12,000 to stay afloat, officials say. An online fundraising campaign is underway here.

Here’s what one former Blind Brook student who was involved in “Tools” says about the program, according to the release: “My critical thinking and analytical skills are so much better because of the experience I had in Tools. At my internship at GE Capital this past summer, I had to make a presentation about the results of my summer project. Without Tools, I would have been extremely nervous and most likely would have messed up completely.”

Accomplishments from Tools students include making data-based recommendations for increasing voter turnout “and using social media to help community organizations do their work,” the press release says.

“A by-product of the Tools course and the broader public/private venture that had made it possible is the Town of Rye’s innovative summer internship program created in part to give Tools students and their peers the opportunity to implement some of these recommendations in their community.”