The HCC New Ventures Program for Entrepreneurs

Minorities represent 27 percent of the American population, but minority-owned firms account for just 14 percent of all U.S. businesses. Of that share, only 4 percent are black-owned. Ability is not the issue. When given the opportunity to tap capital resources others often take for granted, minority entrepreneurs deliver the goods. A 2002 study revealed that minority firms backed by venture capital delivered an average return on investment of 20 percent, which average exceeded the Standard & Poor's 500 average during the same time period.

Harlem Commonwealth Council is committed to empowering minority business owners by providing them with the knowledge and tools necessary to maximize their success potential. We believe in building the foundation of economic development – from the ground up: – from people to business to community. HCC considers business entrepreneurs to be the life-blood of economic activity in the Harlem community. In an effort to increase the likelihood that small businesses will have the best opportunity to prosper in Harlem in September, 2005 HCC implemented the HCC New Ventures Program for Entrepreneurs, a 16-week course featuring the nationally-acclaimed FastTrac® program developed by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The New Ventures Program imparts business and finance training, develops market research and marketing skills, offers one-on-one business development assessments, and features lectures given by local and national business owners. The HCC New Ventures Program is led by certified FastTrac® facilitators.

The HCC New Ventures Program is partially underwritten with a $17,500 grant from JP Morgan Chase Bank.

Click here to download new ventures application.

HCC Scholarship Program

The availability of quality health care services has been a front-and-center issue in the Harlem community. Because of Harlem Commonwealth Council's intimate concern and commitment to addressing the short and long-term needs of Harlem residents, in September, 2005 Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. launched scholarship awards programs to promote educational pursuits by Harlem residents embarking on medical and healthcare – related careers. In particular, Harlem Common Council has partnered with the Helene Fuld College of Nursing, Harlem Hospital and City College of New York to provide financial and career development incentives for Harlem students enrolled in nursing, radiologic technician and physician assistant programs.

Indeed, Harlem Commonwealth Council further lauds and highlights for public recognition special students worthy of distinction because of exceleence in completing their studies at Helene Fuld College. Semi-annual Harlem Commonwealth Council achievement awards are presented at the Helene Fuld graduation ceremony, with past recipients receiving awards named after James Dowdy and Dr. Joseph L. Tait, respectively.

In addition, Harlem Commonwealth Council further underscores its commitment to investing in the Harlem community's human assets by entering into a memorandum of understanding with Harlem Hospital to fund the tuition of at least ten students receiving LPN training.

For more information please contact Elisa Moore at 212-749-0900 Extension 11.

Click here to download scholarship application.


Harlem Commonwealth Council presented the Dr. Joseph L. Tait
Scholarship Award in the field of Nursing at the 2007
Helene Fuld College of Nursing Commencement Program.
 

HCC Internship Program

Internship programs are an integral part of the educational experience having replaced the old apprenticeship system. Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc., (HCC) while it owned manufacturing Plants, Hotels and Businesses in the 1980’s had a very viable and active Internship Program of its own.
 
The decade of the 90’s saw a revamping of our operations and we no longer owned or operated businesses; as a consequence of which, our internship program was phased out.
 
Despite the economic prosperity of the past few years, the inner city minority student still lags behind his suburban counterpart in educational opportunities that will enable them to advance economically and educationally. Role models are scarce or one-dimensional. There is a need to introduce our inner city minority youth, in this case Harlem youth, to the possibilities and the etiquette of the workplace.
 
HCC has reached out and established relationships with: WLIB, a subsidiary of the Inner City Broadcasting Company, City National Bank; Van Wagner Communications, LLC.; Grid Properties, Honerkamp Paper Products; Danforth Development Partners; Cogswell Realty; and Tahl-Propp Equities, who are cognizant of the problems and are interested in helping to minimize the disparity that exists.
 
The placement positions were selected for their value in providing interns with valuable skills and options in career choices.
 
The Internship will be open to those who are residents of Harlem who are high school juniors and seniors or first year college students.

Click here to download internship application.
 
For more information, please contact Elisa Moore at 212-749-0900 Extension 11.

HCC EL-Civics Program

HCC ENGLISH LANGUAGE- CIVICS PROGRAM

In September, 2005 Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc., in partnership with the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBRO), responded to a growing need by our immigrant community by providing English Language (EL)-Civics and English as a Second Language (ESL) classes to non-English speaking immigrants living in the Central Harlem area.

In keeping with its mission to stimulate the overall economic development of the Harlem community through the creation of enterprise, generation of jobs and empowerment of services, HCC is cognizant that there is a growing population of immigrants whose first language is not English. As a result of this, HCC is committed to investing in the Harlem community by providing educational programs that teach basic adult language and civics education to promote job readiness and retention.

It is HCC’s belief that it’s ESL and EL-Civics program will help meet the growing demand for English language skills in Harlem and encourage these individuals to become productive American citizens.

The classes offered at HCC utilize ESL and EL-Civics curriculum teaching techniques that focus on the individual, concentrating on his/her experience, knowledge, immediate needs and concerns. Classes consist of 12 week cycles and will continue throughout the next year.

Current enrollment in the popular program is 125 students, most of whom come from West Africa, Latin America and Haiti.

A continually growing waiting list of over 200 applicants clearly shows that HCC is on target with the need for this program. There are both day and evening classes.

For more information about enrollment and class schedules please contact Brenda Simmons at 212-749-0900 Ext. 23

THINK and CREATE! Harlem Robotics Program

Children of African descent living in New York City are doing poorly in terms of outcome measures in the following areas:

• Reading - 16% of fourth graders are proficient
• Mathematics -44% of eighth graders are proficient in basic mathematics
• High School Graduation - 32% of Black students in New York City graduate from High School
• Special Education involvement - a disproportionate amount of Black boys are in the special education system
• Child health outcomes in Harlem
  • Asthma - almost twice the city rate
  • Injuries - almost twice the city wide rate

In order to succeed in the New York City public schools there is an unrelenting pressure on the student to be creative, to come up with fresh perspectives, demonstrate good self control and social skills.

Think and Create! was started in September, 2006, and is a joint project of Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. and The Harriet Tubman Learning Center - P.S. 154. Think and Create!'s mission and aim is to contribute to the development of intellectual and social skills of students in eCentral Harlem.

Thirty children in P.S. 154, grades three and four, participate in an after-school academic enrichment program that meets four days a week, from 3-5pm. Students take part in four interactive modules: photography, philosophy, dance choreography and robotics. These are interactive projects that also require the children to work as teams and to talk, brainstorm, and write about their experiences.

The students and their parents will also go on field trips to museums, robotic laboratories and art galleries. Professor C. Jama Adams, a psychologist and Assistant Professor at John Jay College, is the program coordinator.

Major funding for the Think and Create! Program is provided by a grant from Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. Funding is also provided by the New York City Department of Education/P.S. 154 and The Goldman Sachs Foundation, a global philanthropic organization which promotes excellence and innovation in education.

Click here to view Community Program Archives.

Harlem Commonwealth Council, Inc. Supports Other Programs With Financial Grants
Harlem USA's Annual Celebrity Read-A-Thon
Harriet Tubman Learning Center's Annual Read Across America
Women In The Black Annual Business Conference
New York Urban League's Youth Development Program