New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and the hedge-fund tycoon George Soros have pledged $30-million each for a far-reaching new effort to improve educational and economic prospects for the city’s young black and Latino men, writes The New York Times.
The gifts from the two billionaire philanthropists will be part of a three-year, nearly $130-million City Hall-run program, which the mayor is to formally announce Thursday.
City officials say black and Latino men aged 16 to 24 are in crisis by nearly every socioeconomic measure, including arrest rates, school suspensions, and poverty.
The program, to start this fall, will significantly expand efforts to train them and place them in jobs, track their academic progress, reduce repeat imprisonments, and improve child-rearing skills.
Mr. Bloomberg asked Mr. Soros to match his donation at a lunch a few weeks ago.
“When the mayor approached us, he was knocking on an open door,” said Mr. Soros, who has contributed millions of dollars to programs to help black men in other cities.
The billionaire philanthropists ranked at the top of The Chronicle‘s annual list of the 50 most generous Americans. Mr. Soros was No. 1 and Mr. Bloomberg was No. 2.
Read The Chronicle‘s profile of Mr. Soros.
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