44°
Forest City Ratner also announced a new $20,000 grant to extend the program.
In 2013, Forest City Ratner Cos. funded this partnership with a $100,000 grant to YPIE, enabling Yonkers students, selected by written applications and interviews, to learn from professionals about the host of management careers in the retail and shopping center industry.
In addition to workshops with FCRC managers and operational partners focusing on marketing, security, parking and maintenance, students learned from representatives of some of the nation’s’ most prominent brands on-site at Ridge Hill. Students were also given insight into the educational requirements for these jobs.
Applications for a place in the program grew from about 32 in 2013 to 95 for the most recent session. With interest so high and the positive feedback from graduates of the program, FCRC decided to extend the program with an additional $20,000 grant.
The current graduating class is the first under the new grant, and another session will be held in the fall of 2016. Whole Foods Market, which has supported the program by providing refreshments to students throughout the session, will have treats on hand for the graduation.
Taking part in the ceremony were: Wendy Nadel, YPIE executive director; Jessalyn Thomas, 11th grade, Roosevelt High School, Early College Studies; Rahul Joseph, 10th grade, Yonkers Middle High School; Meghann Miraglia, vice president marketing, Ridge Hill Yonkers; City Council members Corazone Pineda-Isaac and Christopher Johnson.
Yonkers Partners in Education is a private, not-for-profit organization working in partnership with the Yonkers Public Schools to increase the number of students who complete a post-secondary program.
For more information, visit www.ypie.org.
For more information on Ridge Hill, visit www.forestcity.net.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Yonkers and receive free news updates.
