Awards To Help City's Families Recover From Historic COVID Disruption

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The city's development boom came at just the right time to help New Rochelle students and families recover from the lingering effects of a global pandemic.

The New Rochelle community was among the very first in the country to face coronavirus hardships, but, partly because the city was in the midst of a historic redevelopment as the pandemic emerged, families and students who suffered the most are uniquely positioned to get a much needed boost getting back to something a little closer to normal.

On Tuesday, RXR, the city-designated master developer for downtown New Rochelle, announced the launch of a new $500,000 grant funding program to support New Rochelle youth and their families. This move comes on the heels of RXR awarding over $1 million in COVID relief funding to non-profit organizations in New Rochelle and the surrounding region over the past two years. The company currently manages more than 3.3 million square feet of commercial and retail space, along with 5,500 new residential units downtown.

"The pandemic exacerbated the need for impactful and meaningful programs to support New Rochelle’s children and families," RXR CEO Scott Rechler said in a statement announcing the new initiative. "After providing over $1 million to help support New Rochelle navigate the pandemic, we’re proud to launch the next phase of our community fund with an allocation of $500,000 to support New Rochelle’s youth."

RXR says that the grants will be awarded to local organizations that propose innovative and impactful programs for schoolchildren and their families.

Programs and activities to be considered for funding include: safe environments for youth, parental support, after-school & weekend academic programming, STEAM/STEM, leadership & civics, sports & fitness, summer school programs, arts & media, career & workforce development, college readiness, financial literacy, mentorship, Social Emotional Learning & trauma support and overall conflict resolution.

When New Rochelle became the nation's COVID epicenter in 2020, RXR rushed to establish a COVID Relief Fund with $1 million in seed funding from RXR to help the city's residents, business and non-profit organizations. By partnering with the City of New Rochelle and other private partners, such as the Louis R. Cappelli Foundation, the fund disbursed over $1 million in grants to the community so far. Awards were used to combat food insecurity, provide childcare for essential workers, support telehealth services, help small businesses stay open, bridge the digital divide by providing students with broadband access and iPads, keep after-school programs running and provide funding for vaccine incentives.

Prior award recipients included:

• Academic Pathways
• Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle
• Child Care Council of Westchester
• HOPE Community Services
• Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center/Vax Up Westchester
• New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority
• NourishAll
• STEM Alliance
• The Guidance Center of Westchester
• Westchester Alphas Education Foundation
• WestCop
• City of New Rochelle Holiday Market

As part of the RXR COVID Relief Fund, $486,000 was awarded to Rebound New Rochelle, a small business relief program, providing $500-$10,000 in grants to women/minority business owners, bilingual business liaison support and strategic consulting services.

"RXR has proven their commitment to the City of New Rochelle throughout the COVID pandemic and now with this generous grant," New Rochelle City Manager Charles Strome said. "These funds will provide valuable support to our local organizations and non-profits, securing the foundation of our community and ensuring that the future of our City remains strong."

Grants up to $25,000 will be designated for supplemental funding to impactful programs already in existence, while applicants for grants more than $25,000 are encouraged to partner with other local non-profit organizations to establish or expand innovative programs targeting a specific need or population.

RXR says that the applications for funding will be reviewed on a case-by-casis basis and the grants will be issued until all of the funding is exhausted. Applications can be submitted until Friday, July 1, at 11:59 p.m. Award recipients will be announced in mid-August. More information on the full criteria and the application can be found here.