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July 10, 2024Proctors Collaborative Announces $250,000 Sponsorship of Ambassador Program
The Proctors Collaborative Ambassador program announced at a press conference this morning a five-year joint sponsorship with Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP and BST & Co. CPAs LLP.
The Ambassador programs are partnerships with a community organization that delivers trained ambassador staffers in each of the three cities of Proctors Collaborative venues- Schenectady City Mission of Schenectady at Proctors in Schenectady, Hope House at Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany and RISE Housing and Support Services at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs.
Over 15 years ago, Proctors Collaborative and City Mission, with the support of Metroplex and local downtown businesses, began a partnership to connect a revitalizing neighborhood to its most vulnerable residents. The goal was to help make sure that reinvestment in downtown Schenectady benefitted all its citizens. The role of an Ambassador is to welcome people and provide help in crossing the street, directions, parking and restaurant recommendations while making visitors feel welcome coming into the city. Since 2009, the program has continued a long track record of success and inspired replication in Albany and Saratoga.
“This program has done so much…for me, it keeps me sober…wanting to keep doing it for the next person in line who wants to throw on the red shirt…I have a wife, kids, a career- a life I never thought would be possible all because of you guys putting together a program like this and believing in us,” says Eddie Polanco, a representative of the Ambassadors who spoke this morning.
Ambassadors receive wages and soft-skills job training, in support of their transition out of homelessness, poverty or substance abuse. They bring their own skills and on-the-ground knowledge of the local community, in support of a collaborative effort to make the neighborhood welcoming for all. The program has assisted hundreds of local residents on their journey out of poverty and other life challenges, and continues to demonstrate a way for businesses, service organizations and their consumers to create partnerships for mutual benefit.
