Grace Outreach

Ragane Taylor

I was nervous in the beginning but the staff made me feel so comfortable and at ease. It was an easy transition for me and I felt ready, like it was the right time for me to be back in school. I have been happy ever since. My teachers, all together, as a whole, were perfect…like a family. They would get together and say ‘no, you have to get the answer on your own, I’m not going to give you the answer’. And eventually, I did.

My plan now is to enroll in college and work at the same time that I'm in college. I'll be working with Grace Outreach for college prep as well as job preparation. Grace Outreach is a great opportunity and institution for females trying to further their education and career. Everybody who will sign up to this school will greatly benefit from the services that the school offers.

Zuleika Mendez

I found about Grace Outreach through their commercial on TV. I was watching TV one day bored, depressed and something just clicked. So I made the phone call and two days later they said “Okay, you’re going to take the test” and I said “Cool!”

I did one GED program before Grace Outreach back in 1998. The difference between that GED experience and Grace Outreach is that the teachers from Grace Outreach work with you one on one if you do not understand the work. They do not just hand you work and say 'go for it'. They take their time and dedication to sit there and review the work. They have tutors that help you with the work. It’s amazing.

Grace outreach means the world to me right now. I got my GED in December of 2009. One of the professors, Carol Williams, approached me one day and told me about the college prep program and instantly I signed up for it.

Now I'm registered at Bronx Community College and will be starting there in Aug 2010. I’m majoring in nursing. Hopefully I’ll be done with that in two years, and then I’m planning on going to Lehman College for another two years.

Tian Mobio

Grace Outreach means a lot. I found out about Grace from a friend that I was working with. What attracted me was seeing so many good reviews about it.They helped me while I was pregnant to get my GED. They’re very cooperative with you and very patient and very good teachers.

I was in the program for about three months. My plans are to get a job so that I can pay for college and of course I’m going to go to college.

Quevarda Cummings

Grace Outreach was the best. They made it really easy for you to take the test. It wasn’t exactly like a regular school so they made it easier for you to catch on to things.

They have great teachers. Math was a really tough subject for me. But they work with you. You get a lot of one on one time. They make it fun so it’s not like you’re in school it’s more like you’re hanging out with your friends and learning something at the same time. It made it really easy. I would recommend this school to anybody. Especially if you had a hard time in high school. This is great.

Right now I’m in construction. I’m in a six-week course there to go into the union. I’ve been doing a little bit of electrical, carpentry, plastering. These are basically the three things that I’m going for. I couldn’t have gotten here without Grace.  

Jennifer Ureña

Grace Outreach means a lot to me. It means opportunities. It means my future. I’m a mom and I thought I should finish school and set a good example for my daughter.

I found Grace Outreach and I called them the next day. They told me to come and take the placement test and I did. I did pretty bad on the test but they helped me a lot. It was great.

I really appreciate how the women here helped me. They knew how to solve my problem. If I was weak in one area, they would push me. They would say “Okay, Jennifer, you have to keep going and going”. I thought it was impossible. I am not good in math but the teachers are really good. They work with you. The classes are not too crowded and they can work with you individually. They help you to understand things better. If you need some help you just ask and they will sit with you. My teachers were so great!

My plans are to start college at Bronx Community College in September. I plan to be a teacher. I’m going to keep going. Nothing is going to stop me. 

Lois Grogan

Lois Grogan: “The one time in my life I said, ‘nothing is going to stop me.’”

Lois Grogan, a 34-year-old mother of one, works part-time as a receptionist at a hair salon and is looking for a full-time job. She spends her non-working time playing with daughter Ariyanna, 11, and helping her with her homework. A recent transplant to the Bronx from Manhattan, Lois likes exploring her new neighborhood. Few things make her happier than a meal prepared by her longtime girlfriend Tawanna, a professional cook.

By all accounts it’s a happy life, with hope for an even better future. And in meeting Lois today – focused, articulate, professional – nobody would suspect that her happy life was once a cacophony of drugs, poverty, and prison. Read More

Ivy De Jesus

Ivy De Jesus: “I got exactly what I needed.”

On a warm May morning, Ivy De Jesus is standing outside Grace Outreach, taking in the sunshine with a smile. The light reflects off her cafe-au-lait skin and dark hair, which is secured in a playful ponytail atop her head. She’s wearing a hot pink t-shirt and jeans, her look accessorized with gold hoop earrings and multicolored sneakers.

Passersby might think Ivy’s a teenager. But she’s 37.

Ivy’s youthful appearance suggests that time has, in some ways, stood still for her for the past 20 years. She grew up by getting married, having kids, and working on and off, but until this spring she still didn’t have her GED. Read More

Linda Smith

Linda Smith: “I put my fears in my back pocket.”

In Linda Smith’s mind, she’s always stuck out. “I had a regular family, but because my parents are from Haiti we had a different culture,” she explained. “We’d be dressed differently.”

Growing up in the Albany Projects in Brooklyn, it was her Haitian heritage that caused misunderstandings at school. Because she spoke French, she said, it was assumed that she needed to be in remedial bilingual classes. The truth was that her English was strong, and the slower curriculum ultimately hurt her. Read More