Vimenti marks back-to-school with 14% enrollment growth
The center offers educational and social support, and an employability program.
The integrated family services center, Vimenti, began its 2024-2025 school year with a 14% increase in enrollment, welcoming 314 students from kindergarten through seventh grade, school officials announced.
“This year, we’re proud to announce that we are now directly serving more than 250 families enrolled in Vimenti. This is because, through our Two Generations model, we impact children and families,” said Barbara Rivera-Batista, executive director of Vimenti.
“We continue to provide them with the tools and opportunities for their children to achieve the best academic performance while the entire family improves their economic situation. That is the true success of all of us,” added Rivera-Batista.
Now in its sixth year of operation, Vimenti offers educational, social and economic development programs that contribute to families achieving economic mobility and breaking generational cycles of poverty.
Kindergarten through third-grade students attend classes at the Vimenti I facility at the Ernesto Ramos Antonini Residence Hall, while grades four through seven receive services at Vimenti’s second facility in Villa Prades.
At both facilities, students receive comprehensive academic services, social and emotional support, and health services. Their families also benefit from the services offered by the social and economic development area, including the Employability and Careers Program, which prepares them for insertion into the workforce.
Each family at Vimenti is assigned a case manager and a social worker to help them achieve their goals and break the cycle of poverty, Rivera-Batista explained.
The school also offers afterschool programming for participants between 6 and 18 years old, providing tutoring, supervised homework, and access to technology, art and sports, among other services.
The recruitment process for the 28th cohort of its Employability and Careers Program, which will be offered in a hybrid format, recently concluded
This program provides participants with employability skills, free of charge, to help them find jobs in the hospitality and customer service industries. It consists of five-week workshops — or 125 contact hours — focused on customer service, hospitality and tourism.
Participants also receive mentoring support, direct connections with employers to help them secure employment and a one-year job shadowing program after completing the workshops.
They can also participate in complementary programs, such as conversational English, computer skills certification, financial workshops and resume preparation support. Those interested can register for free.
“This will be a great year, and I thank the entire Vimenti team, which is the driving force behind Vimenti’s mission to eradicate child poverty in Puerto Rico,” said Rivera-Batista.
