Children’s Aid is fully committed to making college a reality for as many youth in our services as possible. That is why staff from across the organization volunteered this past month to help college-bound students and their parents submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Financial aid can make or break the hopes for low-income students when it comes to attending college; the process can be enough of a barrier to thwart students who would otherwise be the first in their families to attend college. This is where our College Access and Success team gets to work.

“We believe it’s important for students to apply for financial aid early because it increases their financial aid packages,” said College Access Manager Ruben Rivera. And like Ruben told his volunteers, “More money is always a good thing for our students.” He and Felipe Ayala spearheaded volunteer trainings and FAFSA nights at five Children’s Aid sites to help students and their families navigate this crucial step in the college application process, months before the application’s federal deadline.

An important part to the FAFSA process is making sure you have your tax return in order. So we felt very lucky to have New York area tax prep firm R&G Brenner raffle off 50 vouchers for free tax services. Their generosity helped remove one more barrier for students and their families, making the path to college just a little bit smoother.

This was a great project by the College Access and Success team, very much in line with the Children’s Aid approach to our mission: bringing together a multitude of resources to ensure that we keep the promise to our young people.