Oak Foundation Grant Recognizes the Unique Service Goals of the St. John’s Advantage Academy

Acknowledging the breakthrough educational opportunity program resulting from one of the University’s important strategic partnerships, the Oak Foundation has awarded the New York City Department of Homeless Services a three-year $344,200 grant to support a variety of initiatives to help St. John’s Advantage Academy students and graduates change their lives.

 The Oak Foundation is comprised of a group of charitable and philanthropic organizations committed to addressing issues of global, social and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged. A key focus is on the prevention of homelessness through sustained solutions that improve the economic and social well being of the most marginalized in society.

“Through the generosity of the Oak Foundation, Advantage Academy students will now benefit from increased employment services, leadership training and short-term financial assistance that will play a monumental role in helping our clients move back to self-sufficiency,” said Seth Diamond, Commissioner, Department of Homeless Services.

The St. John’s Advantage Academy was established in 2009 as an innovative partnership between St. John’s and the New York City Department of Homeless Services. Housed within the University’s College of Professional Studies, the Academy enables qualified individuals from homeless and formerly homeless single parent families to gain the skills and confidence necessary to escape the scourge of poverty and homelessness through education and counseling. It serves as a paradigm for a major goal of the Vincentian Institute for Social Action (VISA) to develop strong strategic partnerships to serve those most disadvantaged.

“Our faculty, particularly our departmental chairs, continues to work with extraordinary commitment to provide Academy students with academic challenges, guidance and support,” said Kathleen Vouté MacDonald, Ed.D., Dean of the College of Professional Studies. “It is the opportunity to build upon this unique educational dynamic that makes the Oak Foundation grant so valuable and affirming for us.”
                            
The Oak Foundation grant awarded to DHS for the St. John’s Advantage Academy will support a major initiative to help students find viable employment opportunities upon graduation. Specifically, the grant will allow the University to provide an employment specialist to work exclusively and individually with Academy students and graduates to build resumes, write cover letters, hone interview skills and conduct targeted job searches.

The grant will also include funding for retreats featuring seminars and training programs with an emphasis upon team-building, leadership and professional skills development. The goals are to improve self-image, develop confidence and promote camaraderie and mutual support among Advantage Academy students.

Other benefits of the Oak Foundation grant include utilizing a web-based assessment tool and developing an effective outcomes tracking system. Together, the University and DHS will work to achieve specific employment goals for Advantage Academy graduates that include ensuring that 75 percent find employment or matriculate into a four-year degree program, with 70 percent of graduates maintaining their academic career or remaining employed after twelve months of graduation from the program.

“The University is particularly grateful that the Oak Foundation and the New York City Department of Homeless Services have expressed such strong and tangible support for the St. John’s Advantage Academy,” said Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., Vice President for Student Affairs and Executive Director of VISA.

“We are excited by this opportunity,” he continued. “It will create a lasting benefit for our students and their families, and we are fully confident that we will meet the goals set forth in the grant. This award also ensures that the Academy will continue to serve as a model of Vincentian service with sustainable impact upon those most in need.”