On November 13th, over 100 people gathered to celebrate the first class of graduates from the FSS+ program that Compass runs in partnership with Cambridge Housing Authority in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Guests included program graduates, their families, Cambridge Housing Authority and Compass staff, as well as several friends and supporters of Compass.
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Together these 86 graduates saved over $460,000 in their program savings accounts over the last five years! These graduates have used those savings to improve their financial security and work toward their financial goals, such as purchasing a home, improving credit, or building emergency savings to ensure that an unexpected challenge in the future doesn’t push their family off track.
The evening included dinner, remarks from Compass and Cambridge Housing Authority staff, a presentation of certificates, and reflections from two members of this graduating class.
Program graduate Nanouce Saint Fort shared about how she has opened a college savings account for her son, and her progress toward her goal of becoming a nurse. “I’ll be the first one to say that I’m in a much different situation today than I was five years ago, and I know I’m not the only one! I think many of us here can say the same,” Nanounce shared. “This program helped me see that opportunities are out there.”
Gardite Fougy, another program graduate, shared how being a mother of three children encouraged her to join the program and work toward her goals - like improving her credit and becoming a homeowner. Thinking back on life before she enrolled in the FSS+ program, Gardite had this to say: “I remember always thinking about how I was going to survive through next week – put food on the table, put gas in the car to go to work, living paycheck to paycheck…All of us here have come such a long way. I hope that what we can show other people is that they can do it, too.”
From all of us at Compass, congratulations again to all of the graduates. We can’t wait to hold more celebrations like this one in the future.