Local entrepreneurs met at M&T Bank’s Mott Haven branch on June 16 to welcome a new cohort of Bronx grantees with small businesses that make a difference in their communities.
The Neighborhood Business Grants initiative provides micro grants of up to $5,000 and ongoing support for small business owners throughout New York City. Since the program’s 2020 creation by the M&T Charitable Foundation and CitizensNYC, it has provided $1.69M in funding to 362 local businesses, and it has now dedicated $200,000 to specifically support the Bronx.
“You’re the backbone, you’re the center of the work that’s happening across New York City, but specifically in the Bronx, every day, and that’s a big part of what we believe in,” Paige Blansfield with M&T Bank Charitable Foundation told the group at the event.
One of the new Bronx cohort members is Olinville resident Starlyte Harris, who owns a tutoring business, Ivy League Tutor.
Harris discovered early on that she had a talent for helping others learn. As far back as middle school, she tutored younger kids in several subjects and continued doing so throughout her adult life.
She graduated from Columbia University and now has more than a decade of experience as a professional tutor, with clients from NYC and the Bronx and as far away as China and Saudi Arabia.
“If I excelled in it, I helped other students as well,” Harris told the Bronx Times. Even though she didn’t realize it back in junior high, “I was accumulating all those skills that helped me build this business now.”
Harris helps students prepare for the SAT and ACT, along with homework help and skills-building in math, reading, writing and more, with tutoring either in person or virtual.
She said when students are academically behind, their confidence often takes a hit that can last a lifetime.
“When you’re an adult, you still remember those experiences as a child. It’s so important to have that foundation so they can have the confidence to achieve whatever it is they want to do,” Harris said.
When she heard about M&T Bank’s small business support, she thought it would be a great opportunity that would enable her to increase her reach.
Harris said she commonly covers costs for some students who can’t afford the normal rates. The grant will help supplement that lost income and enable her to do more outreach among low-income students, she said.
She also plans to use the grant to develop a SAT “boot camp,” offered at different days and times, with customized workbooks that have Bronx-specific references.
With the boot camp, Harris said she aims to reach many more students than her one-on-one sessions allow. “As long as there’s continued interest, I would continue workshops,” she said.
Most of her clients now arrive via referral from happy families, Harris said. “Students are so thrilled when they go from a C to an A, or a low score on the exam to skyrocketed, high score.”
But being involved in the Neighborhood Business Grants cohort will only increase her connections and opportunities, Harris said.
At the June 16 kickoff, she and others engaged in small group discussions about the kinds of support their businesses need to thrive.
The cohort is “so diverse,” Harris said, citing entrepreneurs in the room who specialized in violin instruction, children’s literacy promotion, and even CPR training by someone who had previously suffered a stroke.
“There was not one common theme running for every business besides we all want to support others, help communities, help each other to grow and achieve in all our different ways, using all our different talents,” Harris said.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!
