The TD Bank Charitable Foundation recently presented the College of Staten Island with a $5,000 check in support of SEEK/Strategies for Success.

Representatives from TD Bank recently visited the College of Staten Island campus to present a $5,000 check in support the partnership between SEEK/Strategies for Success and Curtis High School. 

The grant has two distinct groups of beneficiaries: CSI students who will serve as mentors to Curtis High School students, while improving their own academic, leadership, and professional skills, and Curtis High School students in need of academic support to ensure their success. 

Joseph Doolan, Vice President and Retail Market Manager with TD Bank, said “We are proud to support the expansion of the College of Staten Island’s Strategies for Success program into Curtis High School, and we are pleased that the CSI program’s 11 years of demonstrated success in our community will now benefit students at Curtis and allow for additional students at CSI to serve as college mentors.” 

Georgia Landrum, Strategies for Success Program Associate Director, further underscores the win-win that this project offers the students involved, “Curtis students will benefit by having college role models assisting them with their academic work. The CSI students benefit by being in leadership roles. They attend leadership development training that helps them in assisting the younger students and with their lives in general.”  

Landrum also notes that the gift from the TD Charitable Foundation completes the Strategies for Success pipeline, stating that “In the past, our program served elementary and middle school children. Now that we will be able to offer services to Curtis High School students, we have a continuum from the elementary to college level. We can now be more effective in reaching students at all levels and hopefully making the bridge to college a bit easier for them.”  

Prior to signing on with Curtis, Landrum reports that the program was already making a significant impact. In academic year 2011-2012 alone, Strategies for Success gave 32 CSI students the opportunity to serve more than 400 primary school children. 

CSI Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. A. Ramona Brown noted, “On behalf of the College of Staten Island, I would like to thank the TD Charitable Foundation for their belief in and support of CSI’s SEEK/Strategies for Success/Curtis High School partnership. We look forward to a collaborative relationship with the TD Charitable Foundation in support of CSI’s students, as well as students from the local schools on Staten Island.”   

Looking ahead to the future of Strategies for Success, Gloria Garcia, SEEK Program Director, states that “Strategies for Success has been in existence for 11 years and has made its mark in the Staten Island community. With this new initiative, we have expanded our services to the high school students. We look forward to continuing the strengthening of our partnerships with Curtis High School, the Jewish Community Center, and the New York City Department of Education (District 31), bringing the College and our students even closer to the community. We are very proud of our CSI role models.”