2007 Harlem Commonwealth Council Scholarship Award to Nursing School Graduate

Harlem Commonwealth Council presented the Dr. Joseph L. Tait Scholarship Award in the field of Nursing at the 2007 Helene Fuld College of Nursing Commencement Program held at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Harlem. The Helene Fuld College of Nursing, a division of North General Hospital, is a private not-for-profit institution located in Harlem that has an accelerated full-time one-year program that allows experienced licensed practical nurses to achieve an associate registered nurse degree.

Harlem Commonwealth Council in collaboration with Helene Fuld College presented its Award June A. Miller at the April, 2007 graduation. The award was presented by Dr. Joseph L. Tait, President of Harlem Commonwealth Council.

HCC's Scholarship Program offers financial assistance to Harlem residents pursuing careers in the medical field at academic institutions located in the community, including, the City College of New York's Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, Harlem Hospital Center, School of Radiology Technology - Columbia University affiliate, and the Helene Fuld College of Nursing a North General Hospital affiliate. The scholarship awards program was established shortly after Dr. Tait became President in September of 2004.

THINK and CREATE! Harlem Robotics Program

Children of African descent living in New York City are doing poorly in terms of outcome measures in the following areas:

• Reading - 16% of fourth graders are proficient
• Mathematics -44% of eighth graders are proficient in basic mathematics
• High School Graduation - 32% of Black students in New York City graduate from High School
• Special Education involvement - a disproportionate amount of Black boys are in the special education system
• Child health outcomes in Harlem
  • Asthma - almost twice the city rate
  • Injuries - almost twice the city wide rate

In order to succeed in the New York City public schools there is an unrelenting pressure on the student to be creative, to come up with fresh perspectives, demonstrate good self control and social skills.Think and Create! was started in September, 2006, and is a joint project of Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. and The Harriet Tubman Learning Center - P.S. 154. Think and Create!'s mission and aim is to contribute to the development of intellectual and social skills of students in eCentral Harlem.Thirty children in P.S. 154, grades three and four, participate in an after-school academic enrichment program that meets four days a week, from 3-5pm. Students take part in four interactive modules: photography, philosophy, dance choreography and robotics. These are interactive projects that also require the children to work as teams and to talk, brainstorm, and write about their experiences.The students and their parents will also go on field trips to museums, robotic laboratories and art galleries. Professor C. Jama Adams, a psychologist and Assistant Professor at John Jay College, is the program coordinator.

Major funding for the Think and Create! Program is provided by a grant from Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. Funding is also provided by the New York City Department of Education/P.S. 154 and The Goldman Sachs Foundation, a global philanthropic organization which promotes excellence and innovation in education.

Thanksgiving Meal for Needy Families
November 2005


Left to right: (Joyce Beadle- Thomas Memorial Church member,
Michael Johnson- HCC Board Chairman, Ms. Riley- Thomas Memorial Church Trustee,
Dr. J.L. Tait- President, CEO, HCC, Ms. Warner- Thomas Memorial Church Trustee)

On November 22nd, the Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. located at 361 West 125th Street, NY NY, gave Thanksgiving Grocery Baskets to needy families in the Harlem community. Consistent with its focus on economic development and concern for the social welfare of the residents and the community it serves, HCC welcomed the opportunity to work with the Thomas Memorial Wesleyan Church located at 270 West 126th Street, NY, NY, who hosted and coordinated the event.

Joined by the Trustees of the Thomas Memorial Wesleyan Church, Ms. Warner and Ms. Riley, Dr. Joseph Tait, President and CEO of Harlem Commonwealth Council, Michael Johnson-HCC Board Chairman and several members of the HCC staff, handed out baskets filled with turkeys and all the trimmings necessary to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

The event was a success!!

In July 2002, HCC convened and sponsored Developing Harlem’s Human Resources- a forum to address the impact on Northern Manhattan on welfare reform and the city’s new approach during the second stage of the legislation. Human Resources Administration Commissioner Verna Eggleston defended the city’s position on welfare reform to a critical audience that was brought together by Harlem’s faith-based, political and service organizations and informed by data collected and analyzed by the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service.
 
To elaborate on the discussion of poverty and changes in income in Manhattan and the implications for Central Harlem, East Harlem and Washington Heights, HCC held a follow up forum in November 2002, and in 2003 (September to January) sponsored The Harlem Self-Sufficiency Job Readiness Project, a pilot program to train women for economic self-sufficiency. HCC and The Women’s Center for Education and Career Advancement provided low-income working Harlem families with job readiness assessment, transition to work classes and an assessment of eligibility for a variety of supports and subsidies available to help them meet their basic needs while working at low-wage jobs.

Indeed, Harlem Commonwealth Council further lauds and highlights for public recognition special students worthy of distinction because of exceleence in completing their studies at Helene Fuld College. Semi-annual Harlem Commonwealth Council achievement awards are presented at the Helene Fuld graduation ceremony, with past recipients receiving awards named after James Dowdy and Dr. Joseph L. Tait, respectively.

In addition, Harlem Commonwealth Council further underscores its commitment to investing in the Harlem community's human assets by entering into a memorandum of understanding with Harlem Hospital to fund the tuition of at least ten students receiving LPN training.

For more information please contact Elisa Moore at 212-749-0900 Extension 11.



Harlem Commonwealth Council presented the Dr. Joseph L. Tait
Scholarship Award in the field of Nursing at the 2007
Helene Fuld College of Nursing Commencement Program.

Harlem Commonwealth Council Scholarship Award to Nursing School Graduate
November 2005
Text and Photos © Kwame Brathwaite

The Harlem Commonwealth Council presented its first James Dowdy scholarship award in the field of Nursing at the Helene Fuld College of Nursing Commencement Program at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church to a standing room only crowd of family and supporters. The college, a division of North General Hospital, is a private, not-for-profit institution located in Harlem, that for the past fifty years has educated nurses in a unique first of a kind program that advances experience licensed practical nurses to associate degree registered nurses in an accelerated one-year full-time program.

HCC in collaboration with Fuld College, presented its Award for Excellence in Liberal Arts and Science to Seona Bhagat (A.A.S.R.N.) at the Novermber 13th graduation. The award was presented by HCCs newly appointed President, Dr. Joseph L. Tait and Board member Randy Dupree as the 121 graduates cheered in approval.

The HCC Scholarship Program offers financial assistance to Harlem residents pursuing careers in the medical field at academic institutions located in the community, among them are: CCNY Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education; Harlem Hospital School of Radiology Technology-Columbia University Affiliate and the Helene Fuld College of Nursing-North General Hospital Affiliate. The fund was established shortly after Dr. Tait became President in September of 2004.