Recently at the Salvation Army’s Brownsville Corps Community Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., community leaders, family members, and other supporters gathered virtually via Zoom to award the inaugural Helping Hand Grants (HHG) to three deserving students as they transition from high school to college.

Major Steven Lopes, with his wife, Major Valerie Lopes, have been the corps officers in Brownsville for the past two years. They’re excited about this unique initiative that has the potential to benefit the local community and be repeated in many others throughout the territory and perhaps the United States.

The Helping Hand Grant project encourages young people to rise above their challenges. It puts a spotlight on the kids who often live in the shadows of A–plus students and recognizes individuals who fall in the middle.

They don’t get highlighted because they’re not on either ends of the extreme. But they’re doing wonderful and great things;  meeting the challenges of school and everyday life.

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