Tiffany Cordero, an analyst at Lord Abbett, understands what it’s like being a student experiencing homelessness.
She grew up in the NYC shelter system and didn’t have access to the basic tools to succeed in the classroom. For her, it looked like starting school with a dull pencil and used notepad in a frayed drawstring bag.
In a recent op-ed published in Crain’s New York, Tiffany writes how receiving new school supplies and high-quality backpacks from Volunteers of America-Greater New York’s Operation Backpack® campaign “fundamentally changed [her] life.” She says it gave her “the opportunity to change the trajectory of my future.”
Now, she actively volunteers with her employer and VOA-GNY’s corporate partner Lord Abbett to pack backpacks over the summer for children living in NYC shelters.
With the support of our generous supporters, Operation Backpack® broke its own record by collecting nearly 24,000 backpacks filled with grade-specific supplies — which helped equip every New York City student living in shelter with a new backpack and school supplies this school year.
Concluding the op-ed, Tiffany urges her peers in corporate America to help invest in the education of children experiencing homelessness.
“With your help we will be able to change the lives of many young Tiffanys by giving them access to something that can never be taken from them: their education.”
Read the full op-ed at Crain’s New York.