Sanders Brings Groundbreaking Home / Business Ownership Program to the Rockaways

Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale Village, Far Rockaway) welcomed a new group of applicants to his groundbreaking home and business ownership program called the Madam C.J. Walker Institute, with a celebration on April 20, 2018 at the Arverne by the Bay Community Center. The first group of graduates had taken classes in Jamaica.

"Who is ready to own a home?" Sanders asked the crowd.. "Langston Hughes once said that America should be America for everyone. There is so much wealth and progress all around us, but for a long time our plate has been empty. Let's do something about that."

The program begins with a mandatory 4-week financial boot camp which teaches participants how to repair / build their credit and how to design a personally tailored budget. The second part of the program will partner candidates with banks that have various down payment assistant options and move residents closer to their ownership goals.

At the kickoff event, industry experts presented free resources designed to promote wealth. Both the senator and the financial advisers are committed to helping applicants achieve their dreams of home and business ownership.

The program is named after Madam C.J. Walker who is recognized as the first black woman to become a millionaire in America. In addition to being an entrepreneur with a successful line of hair care products, Walker was also a philanthropist, and a political and social activist.