Stories | FPWA

FPWA has a long record of supporting New Yorkers who strive to reach their goals and fulfill their dreams.

This is possible with financial support from generous donors and foundations. These funds are distributed to our member agencies, who provide vital, community-based programs to New Yorkers with low incomes throughout all five boroughs.

Isabella Williams

With a blue marker, Isabella Williams traces an outline of her mother’s hand onto a sheet of construction paper. Their collaborative piece of art could not have been made as effortlessly just a few weeks earlier.

Welcoming Her Daughter Home and Into Her New Life

Nakia Vassell

She’s Lived in More Than 8 Foster Homes. Now She’s Going Out on Her Own

The first 13 years of Nakia Vassell’s life run through her mind like a series of numbers: the seven siblings with whom she spent her early years, the more than eight foster homes she lived in, and the many relatives’ households that she cycled through before she felt she had found stability.

Michael Dickerson

He Went From Fixing Fry Machines to a Fancy Waterfront Hotel

Seven months ago, Michael Dickerson worked the morning shift at the McDonald’s in Far Rockaway, Queens. He stocked the freezers with hamburgers, fixed frying machines and did whatever was needed.

Heydrick Padilla

He Struggled at School, but Now Success Is Adding Up

After some rough high school years, Heydrick Padilla has put his math skills and passion for chemistry to use. But he needed financial assistance to get there.

Mark Lanferman

He Wanted to Prove He Could Stay Sober. So He Kept Vodka in His Closet.

For his first 30 days staying sober, Mark Lanferman kept a sealed bottle of Georgi vodka stashed in the closet. It was a token of comfort, not temptation, a sign of his resolve.

Nettie Carrier

Making a Home Her Own, and a Refuge for Others

For four years, Nettie Carrier had a couch in her apartment that she never sat on.