NJCDC’s College Sendoff is Saturday, August 8!

For the past 12 years, NJCDC has proudly hosted our annual College Sendoff to celebrate the hard work, perseverance, and promise of Paterson's graduating seniors. On Saturday, August 8, we're excited to once again welcome students, families, educators, and supporters to our Rogers Meeting Center for this inspiring tradition as we send the Class of 2026 off to their next chapter.

In partnership with Paterson Public Schools, NJCDC will honor college-bound graduates from across the city, celebrating their achievements and investing in their futures through tens of thousands of dollars in college scholarships. In a city where just 12.5% of adults have earned a bachelor's degree, pursuing higher education is a significant milestone. For many of the students recognized, it also marks the beginning of a new family legacy as first-generation college students — making this celebration all the more meaningful.

Every day, NJCDC serves more than 4,000 children, teens, and families through our comprehensive cradle-to-college pipeline of programs. In recent years, our college readiness efforts have helped students gain admission to top schools like Harvard, Dartmouth, Emory, Northeastern, Wesleyan, Johns Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Miami, and Georgetown University, among many others. We’re so proud of their successes — and we can’t wait to celebrate this year’s college-bound students on August 2!

Our College Sendoff is truly a testament to the hard work of Paterson youth. If you’d like to make a difference in the life of a Paterson student heading to college, please fill out our donation form, make an online gift, or email sendoff@njcdc.org. Your donation will directly impact the number of college scholarships we’re able to give to graduating high school students from Paterson, helping them on their journey to college — and beyond.