About WithinReach
Recipients, without exception, have powerful stories to share and big dreams that they are working towards. They want to be doctors, nurses, graphic designers, architects, and entrepreneurs. One recipient’s words: “I want to offer my children a better life and set a good example about working hard and to always dream big even when things feel and look impossible in life”. Another said: “Leaving my family and the place where I was born was one of the hardest things I have ever done…but being able to go to college to get an education and make my family proud has helped me to keep going…going to college is not just an education for me, but it is my happiness.”
WithinReach is proud to support these students and turn what looks “impossible” into an achievable goal that brings personal satisfaction and happiness, along with academic success and possibilities for a better future. Every single dollar donated goes directly to scholarship recipients – all of our administrative work is done by volunteers and administrative costs are covered by a generous donor. Please join us in our mission and help us support underserved adult learners! Every bit counts.
The WithinReach Foundation was founded in 2014 with the belief that everyone deserves a chance at Higher Education. Students who come back to school fight against tremendous odds for self-betterment, and we are dedicated to making that process easier. We want to be sure they know they are not alone and that their hard work is recognized and rewarded.
Our organization provides full and partial scholarships to highly deserving and economically disadvantaged adult learners, who have passed the High School Equivalency exam and who don’t otherwise have the means to support themselves in their academic pursuits. In addition to the cost of tuition, we aspire to alleviate some of the financial strain associated with higher education – this may include the cost of books, transportation, or even childcare so that an applicant is able to attend school.
WithinReach has awarded over a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships and stipends since 2015. Many of our students go on to get Bachelor’s Degrees. We have students who have moved on to City College, Brooklyn College, and even FIT. The WRF continues to support these students with stipends and advisory services. Over 80% of scholarship recipients have maintained a 3.0 GPA, with the majority of those maintaining a GPA well over 3.5.
When I started teaching in Adult Education in 2009, I had no idea the power of adult learning. Adult learners are learning for the purpose of changing their lives. They are changing the stories of their families, of their communities. They are mothers, fathers, children sending money to home countries, and in many cases fighting against the odds to break the bonds of generational poverty. They are determined and they deserve a chance.
There are many reasons adults need a second chance to earn their high school diplomas: death of a parent at an early age, the need to work to support families, early parenthood, childhood illness, inadequate and dangerous schools, and little access to education, particularly for girls, in the countries they grew up in. All arrive in adult education classes woefully underprepared academically, mainly as a result of deep poverty. Yet it is amazing how many of these students “catch fire” in the process of continuing their education. They thrive. They change their ideas about themselves. They become students. Many begin to dream of college.
Unfortunately their dreams of college are too seldom realized. Only 6% of those who earn HSE diplomas make it through one year of college. The principal reason is financial. Most simply do not have the money to attend college full time and complete degree programs. Jobs and families take precedent. Also, many adult students don’t have others to rely on help them navigate their college experience and academic workload.
That is why I founded the WithinReach Foundation—to give the deserving adult learners studying in our classes a fighting chance at completing the higher education they might otherwise only dream about. With your help, we will award full college scholarships each year to applicants whom we believe will succeed in college and make a positive difference in their communities. WithinReach Foundation will create networking events so that these students become ambassadors to the larger adult learning community. It is within your reach to bring college education within reach of these amazing High School Equivalency achievers.
