AT&T Donates $10,000 To East Harlem Union Settlement
One Tech Stop
Originally Published in One Tech Stop
December 4, 2013
By Lenny Bonsignore
(New York, NY) – AT&T announced a $10,000 donation to the East Harlem nonprofit Union Settlement as a part of #GivingTuesday, the national day of giving to kick off the holiday season started by the 92nd Street Y. AT&T relied on social media to drive the campaign, tweeting from @ATTNYC and pledging to donate to Union Settlement’s College Readiness Program. The two-week drive began on Tuesday, November 19, and continued through #GivingTuesday on December 3, during which AT&T tweeted photos, quotes and personal stories from the current and former students aided by the College ReadinessProgram.
“AT&T is committed to education and ensuring students graduate from high school equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to access higher education and thrive in the workforce. Our #GivingTuesday campaign speaks to the benefits of supporting Union Settlement and initiatives like it that help our students reach their goals – the impact of which will be felt long after the holidays,” said Marissa Shorenstein, New York State President, AT&T. “I am proud we are able to make this donation to such an indispensable New York City organization for #GivingTuesday and thank the 92nd Street Y for their leadership in this program. We are excited to participate in this important social media movement and encourage others to do the same.”
“We thank AT&T for their support and for championing the values of #GivingTuesday,” said David Nocenti, Executive Director of Union Settlement Association. “By sharing stories of lives changed through our work, AT&T is recognizing the importance of neighborhood-based organizations like Union Settlement and encouraging all of us to play a part in helping underserved communities.”
“We are so grateful to AT&T for their participation in #GivingTuesday and their ongoing support of education in New York City and around the country,” said Henry Timms, interim executive director of 92nd Street Y. “The work AT&T is doing with Union Settlement is exactly the kind of creative public-private collaboration that is at the heart of #GivingTuesday, which is bringing partners in all sectors together for the greater good.”
Launched in 1964, Union Settlement’s College Readiness Program connects students to counseling, academic enrichment and internshipopportunities. The program has assisted more than 20,000 students, 90 percent of whom have been accepted to at least one institution of higher education and 20 percent of whom have gone on to pursue advanced degrees in graduate school. The program now serves more than 1,380 students each year offering SAT prep courses, college and career fairs, computer workshops, trips to college campuses, tutoring, counseling, and community service opportunities. These resources, made possible in part by donations like AT&T’s, provide students with the support they need to gain self-confidence identify and reach their goals and thrive in their futures.
In addition to #GivingTuesday, AT&T also supports the 92nd Street Y’s Digital Design program, which provides STEM education to high school students through creative use of state-of-the-art 3D design programs and 3D printing. The class is offered at the Theater Arts Production High School in the South Bronx.