The Long Island Community Foundation's Long Island Racial Equity Donor Collaborative has awarded a $100,000 grant to the Bridgehampton Child Care and Recreational Center. The center plans to use the grant to support the Teach Me How to Fish program, an initiative that aims to tackle the wealth equity gap by supporting Black communities on the East End.
The grant is an "unprecedented opportunity," Lukas Weinstein, who works on the Teach Me How to Fish program, said.
The program seeks to provide specialized skills training in order to build financial security and upward economic mobility. It was started last year after the center received a planning grant from the Long Island Community Foundation. The training involves the real estate field and the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) disciplines.
According to Bonnie Michelle Cannon, the center's executive director, there is a large wealth disparity among communities on the East End. Mr. Weinstein describes Teach Me How to Fish as "not just a program, it's a transformative strategy," which addresses this gap through skills training that can lead to higher paying jobs.
The plan is to turn "opportunity into action, and action into impact," Mr. Weinstein said.