WASHINGTON — With Giving Tuesday one week away, the group New Futures is gearing up for a campaign to raise scholarship money for underserved young people.
The organization is celebrating its 25th year of serving young people in the DMV area.
It focuses on providing educational opportunities and a career pipeline through scholarships and wraparound supports like mentorship and career workshops.
To date, staff have worked with 818 scholars, one of whom is Iqra Ali.
“It's honestly such an amazing feeling knowing that I have a community of people,--whether it's mentors or other scholars — that I can rely on to support me on my journey," Ali said.
Ali is a first generation college student, who says these supports have made a big difference in her future success.
"I was paying for my household expenses while paying for my college, so I really needed the financial assistance at the time," she said. "I was also appealed by the fact of the one on one advising, because I'm a first generation college student, and I didn't have much support when I entered college, and I felt lost. So once I joined New Futures, my advisor helped guide me on the right journey.”
“A lot of our scholars are caregivers; they are parents; they are active community members, and being able to have one less burden allows them to be able to go on and do more and be more successful for the future," New Futures CEO Sherrod Williams said.
Beyond the financial support, Ali said the mentorship truly makes a difference.
“[That] is kind of our secret sauce, and it really is instrumental in helping our scholars reach their success," Williams said. "We provide a lot of skill-building workshops that really aid them, not only in their academics, but in life in general. And most importantly, we are preparing them for the job market. We're helping provide training on resumes. We're providing training on interviews, all the things necessary to compete in this job market.”
Williams said this kind of wraparound support has helped New Futures to reach an 86% graduation rate.
He also said in surveys they've done, 79% of their scholars said they feel like they have financial security after working with New Futures, and 97% pursue higher education after their Associate’s Degree or land a job after graduation.
Ali said the peer support helps her to continue pursuing her goals.
“I feel like a lot of the scholars here just are such a great inspiration for me to keep going forward and pursuing my journey," she said.
In sharing her story at an event about six months ago, Ali landed a short-term internship that has since been extended.
She graduates with her Associate's Degree in December and plans to pursue a Bachelor's Degree with the goal of being a project manager one day.
"I'm the first person and first woman in my family to be earning a degree, and I'm just grateful that I get to set the path for future generations to come," Ali said.
Requirements for students to apply for scholarships are to be between the ages of 17 and 29, and identify as low to moderate income based on DC median family income data.
Williams said their students are primarily Black and Latinx.
"I think one of our biggest pieces of data that we're so proud of is that over the 25 years, we've awarded $7 million in scholarships, which is huge for an organization like us," Williams said. "They have told us that their work and connection to New Futures has helped them to reach the success that they have now within their careers or in the educational opportunities that they're pursuing after."
For their Giving Tuesday campaign, they're looking to raise $300,000 by December 31.
If you want to learn more about New Futures or want to donate, click here.