Oprah loves this N.J.-based after school program so much, she just gave it $5M – NJ.com

Judith Griffin was at a loss for words for about 90 seconds when she got the phone call last September.

Rebecca Sykes, then president of the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation, was on the line with some jarring news.

Winfrey decided to give $5 million to Pathways to College, a nationwide after-school program Griffin established in 2003 to support students of color in school districts with limited resources. It prepares them for college and shows them how to stay there so they can be successful in life.

“I was speechless,” Griffin said, recalling the phone call. “Stunned is the word.”

Joy was the word as it spread Thursday afternoon during a luncheon hosted by the Turrell Fund at the Van Vleck House & Gardens in Montclair.

As president, Griffin delivered the game-changing news to Pathways students and dignitaries, who were already excited after listening to a video message from a surprise guest.

Winfrey appeared on a screen praising Griffin for her work with young people.

“I celebrate and honor the work Pathways to College does in securing futures for young people who want to go to college,” Winfrey said. “I am proud to sponsor and support all of these young people and their dreams for a better life through education.”

The students were still in a daze Thursday, shocked by the Winfrey moment.

When she appeared on the screen, Sumwen Osagie, 18, placed her hands over her mouth, whispering to herself, OMG. In disbelief, she looked to her right at Shahid Carter, a Pathway participant at East Side High School. Then she turned to her left to look at Valerie Valle, her friend and classmate at Arts High School, who is also in the program.

“Oprah knows Pathways to College,” Osagie said, still in awe. “It’s something that motivates me to keep on going no matter what.’’

That’s one thing she’s not lacking. The Arts High School senior applied to 13 colleges and has been accepted to all of them. She’ll be attending Fairleigh Dickson in the Fall.

Had it not been for Pathways’ guidance, Osagie said she “would have been all over the place’’ in her college search and preparation.

Shahid Carter, 18, was floored by the dollar amount and hearing Winfrey say “Pathways” as if she’s known about the program for quite some time.

Man, he’s glad now to have signed up as a freshman. Carter said he had college ambition but didn’t know how to go about it. Just thinking about it was scary and stressful until Pathways laid out the road map.

“It (Pathways) really helped a lot,’’ he said.

Valle, 18, couldn’t believe the program was experiencing such good fortune.

“It’s Oprah,’’ she said, smiling. “I love it. I Iove it.’’

Valle said Pathways made college attainable especially when the program took students to visit college campuses. She took a few moments at the luncheon to acknowledge Griffin, taking her hand in front of everyone assembled.

“I want to thank you for inspiring me and encouraging me,’’ said Valle, who has been accepted into seven schools.

This was the second substantial gift Winfrey has given to programs that benefit Newark children in less than a year. Last May, she gave $500,00 to “Lights On,” an after-school program at West Side High School that keeps Newark kids off the streets from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Pathways is doing something right to also gain Winfrey’s attention and generosity.

It keeps keeps its students focused on their future, working with them four days a week. Its curriculum is designed to value their abilities, goals and dreams, to show young people they have support.

Aside from Newark, it has been in Gary, Indiana; Detroit, Michigan; and Pine Bluff and Altheimer, Arkansas. As part of the $5 million award, the gift includes a $2 million matching contribution.

“It (the gift) is a wonderful endorsement of our work,” Griffin said.

Pathways has served more than 4,000 students, and historically, 100% of its scholars have been admitted to college. At last count, Griffin said, 68% are currently in college or have graduated. It has operated at 20 program sites around the country, including in Newark, where Pathways has been the longest, starting out small in the 1990s before the official launch in 2003.

At Arts, West Side and East Side High schools in Newark, Griffin said the emphasis is on students’ strengths, talents and critical thinking skills, not so much standardized tests that do not measure academic performance in college.

“Equally if not more important is knowing how to walk through the world with confidence and understanding,” Griffin said.

Superintendent Roger Leon, who was beaming with pride from the announcement, described the news as amazing for a program that demystifies the college experience.

“Of the many initiatives we had in district, this is definitely one that has a profound impact. It’s a lot more than a nice thing to do.”

It has been the right thing to.

Griffin met Winfrey nearly 20 years ago when she was president of “A Better Chance,” (ABC), a program that identifies and recruits young people of color, who attend the nation’s premier college preparatory schools. Under that umbrella, Griffin created Pathways to College in 1994 but left the (ABC) organization she headed to expand the new program that she said would bring to Newark in the 1990s.

Over the years, though, she and Winfrey agreed to stay in touch. Griffin has been on Winfrey’s talk show and through a partnership with Starbucks, the philanthropist recommended (ABC) as a charity to receive funding.

Winfrey’s interest in Griffin’s commitment to education led her to Pathways. This past summer, Winfrey’s foundation reached out to Griffin, asking her to outline a future for the organization if it was to be considered for funding.

Griffin laid out her vision about how Pathways needed to change its income stream. It didn’t want to depend entirely on public schools to function, even though Pathways has support from the philanthropic community.

In its strategic plan, she said, Newark would be the model to expand elsewhere in the country and to the remaining high schools in the city. Financial backing from Winfrey would help Pathways involve local donors.

The foundation kept asking questions, an encouraging sign to Griffin that Winfrey was interested. She had no idea, however, that Winfrey would write a check until that phone call from Sykes last September.

“Of all the charities in the country, she would choose to give this contribution to us because she believed in what we do. I don’t even know how you put a price on that.”

You don’t.

Griffin understands it is important for her to do a good job, and to spend this gift wisely, so Winfrey can be proud that she made the right choice.

“We are deeply grateful to her.”

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Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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