$15,000 Grant from WCF Expands Primeros Pasos

The Guidance Center received $15,000 from the Westchester Community Foundation to expand the Primeros Pasos program into Port Chester. Primeros Pasos, an early childhood development and school readiness program, already benefits children of newly immigrated Latino families living in New Rochelle.

“The $15,000 from Westchester Community Foundation speaks volumes to the important role that Primeros Pasos plays in strengthening our communities and helping young children develop academically, emotionally and socially,” said Amy Gelles, Executive Director of The Guidance Center. "If we can prepare children from a very young age for academic success, we are paving the way to a bright future. We are delighted to be able to offer this program to even more children in the Sound Shore area.”

Primeros Pasos helps the children and parents better understand and prepare for the school system. Many US-born children begin pre-school and separating from their parents around the age of thee. Children from Latino countries often remain with at least one parent until the age of six. Because of this, the children often suffer from more separation anxiety, which impacts their academic success. The goal is to better prepare the children for the academic,  social and emotional expectations of the school system.

The Westchester Community Foundation (WCF) is a non-profit community endowment for the benefit of Westchester County. Its mission is to develop and manage philanthropic resources and to distribute them in a way that is responsive to donor interests and community needs. The Foundation actively promotes charitable giving on behalf of the area’s non-profit organizations. WCS is a division of The New York Community trust, one of the largest community foundations in the country with assets of over $2 billion.

For more information about Primeros Pasos, please contact Laura Newman, Director of Development, at 914-636-4440 x 224 or lnewman@tgcny.org