College is incredibly expensive with many necessary expenses beyond tuition. Help provide laptops to young women pursuing higher education.

Why we care: While 90% of our Sisters in Strength gain entrance to college, many experience financial barriers that threaten their successful completion

How we’re solving this: The Post-Secondary Assistance Fund provides laptops for 10 Sisters in Strength Youth Organizers as they move on to college and other life pursuits.

When Ashley showed up for her first computer class at New York University, she was dismayed to find there were no desktop computers. As one of the only students in class with no laptop, nor the funds to purchase one, Ashley was at a distinct disadvantage that threatened not only her chance to succeed, but her confidence in the very abilities that helped her get accepted to NYU. Without the tools necessary for successful completion, Ashley was forced to take a hiatus and is working hard to get back to school and earn her four-year degree.

Many of the young women in our Sisters in Strength* leadership training program overcome barriers such as family issues, poverty and homelessness to gain acceptance to college. But even for those awarded scholarships to their “dream” schools, unanticipated expenses, like those of a laptop computer, can prove jarring and facilitate a downward spiral.

Help us give these determined young women an equal chance. Through the Post-Secondary Assistance Fund, we will provide them with fully equipped laptop computers upon graduating from high school.

*More information on the Sisters in Strength program can be found here.