It has been a turbulent few months to say the least but thanks to the support of our sponsors, benefactors, members and the horological community, HSNY is proud to report that it has awarded $155,000 in financial assistance to watchmaking students, schools and professionals to-date in 2020.

In April 2020, HSNY launched the Working Watchmakers Grant to assist industry professionals directly during the COVID-19 pandemic. HSNY issued checks for $1,000 to 100 watchmakers and clockmakers across 31 states, totaling $100,000.

Despite the cancellation of the HSNY 2020 Gala & Charity Auction, America's oldest watchmaking guild pushed forward and awarded the Henry B. Fried Scholarship to six watchmaking students. Established in 2017, the Henry B. Fried Scholarship aims to help watchmaking students succeed in every way by helping to cover the cost of watchmaking tools and living expenses while attending a full-time watchmaking school.

New in 2020, the Howard Robbins Award was established as a grant for watchmaking schools in the United States. Howard Robbins (1950-2020) was a professional in the world of timepieces for nearly 40 years and recently passed away in March 2020. This award is intended to foster Robbins’ professional rigor, love of people and belief in education within the watchmaking community. The 2020 recipients of the Howard Robbins Award are the Veterans Watchmaker Initiative in Delaware ($15,000), the only technical school devoted to disabled veterans in the U.S., and Paris Junior College’s Texas Institute of Jewelry Technology in Texas ($10,000), established in 1942 to provide industry job training.