the project
As bees work from flower to flower distributing pollen as they collect it, the Bronx is Blooming leaders move from park to park, leading their communities in environmental stewardship and park revitalization as they gain project management and leadership skills of their own. These leaders are enhancing their own lives as they work to build their communities.
The Program for Leaders Advancing their Community’s Environment (PLACE) works with Bronx high school and college students to create a sense of PLACE around community parks.
We are raising money for two of our Bronx PLACE college leaders to establish monthly community park projects in the spring of 2017. Our goal is to attract more local individual volunteers and create a larger Bronx is Blooming community, while our leaders learn more about how we create, coordinate and manage our projects.
As a result of Having such an amazing and energetic summer mentor team, new growth opportunities have become a big part of our mission. We want each member of our team to challenge him or herself, so that like the hive, our community continues to grow.
the steps
Our PLACE college mentors will receive training in the winter (January-March) of 2017 and then they will be tasked with coordinating and managing large groups of volunteers in environmental stewardship projects in 2 parks over 2 months in the spring (April-June) of 2017.
why we're doing it
The effects of urban runoff are the leading water quality problem in NYC; our PLACE students led thousands of volunteers in environmental projects, helping community open spaces absorb rainwater while learning to be leaders. Nearly 90% of our participants reported a substantial increase in their knowledge of Bronx environmental issues and leadership skills; 95% substantially increased their knowledge of horticulture; and 95% were more aware of the needs of their community.
Working to continue the training of two of our excelling summer mentors allows BIB to foster their growth. This project specifically focuses on their leadership of three spring projects, where they will help to coordinate 2 community events – picking dates, helping with creating promotions and reaching out to our communities. They will also invite past PLACE students to assist in leading each of these projects.
PLACE has been a summer opportunity for Bronx high school students and The Bronx is Blooming is looking to expand on this success. We want PLACE to provide a year-round opportunity that fosters our students’ leadership success, into attendance and success in college; an established Bronx is Blooming monthly park day is a great step in achieving those larger goals. In addition, a monthly event creates consistency, helping foster community involvement.
budget
Final Budget:
pay for each of our two interns at $250 per month for 4 months of planning and running events $177.67 will go to training and project management.
| RAISED = | $2,278.00 |
| less ioby Platform Fee | $35.00 |
| less ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) | $65.33 |
| TOTAL TO DISBURSE = | $2,177.67 |
Original Budget:
pay for each of our two interns at $250 per month for 4 months of planning and running events
| SUBTOTAL = | 2,000 |
| ioby Platform Fee | $35 |
| ioby Donation Processing Fee (3%) | $60 |
| TOTAL TO RAISE = | $2,095 |
updates
Thank you to everyone who has supported our Second Saturday Stipend!
Posted 02/07/2017 - 1:50pm
We exceeded our goal and have two interns ready to start training.
Your support is what makes all our amazing youth and environmental
community programming possible. We have been working really hard this year
and have had some great successes. Our students led more volunteers at
their parks than in any year prior - many of these were small groups run by
the individual PLACE groups with their mentors. We also went on 3 Bronx
college visits with our students this summer, heightening our focus on
college awareness and knowledge (while making some silly faces).
Ramon (the Mosholu Parkway group mentor), with PLACE leaders Ana, Tyler and
Steven at the Lehman College visit in early August 2016
We find that the most noticeable results come from not only the change we
see in our students, but also the change they see in themselves.
"Being a leader today felt good and gave me more confidence… made me feel I
am good at what I do and can show others.. I think i can be a leader
anywhere now".
Ethan (PLACE leader 2016) with his group of volunteers fencing one of the
163 newly planted native trees that The Bronx is Blooming groups helped
protect this summer at Crotona Park.
Ramon and our PLACE mentors are the ones who instill the knowledge and
sense of self in Ethan and all our PLACE leaders. Offering them the
opportunity to continue to hone their skills during the school year makes
our programming stronger, while offering our leaders the chance to earn
money, develop skills and care for their communities. We are currently
working to train our two spring interns over the next two months, so that
they can begin running projects throughout April and May.
Our goal is to create a regular monthly volunteer service opportunity that
members of our community and our PLACE leaders can put into their calendars.
We hope to attract more local individual volunteers and create a larger
Bronx is Blooming community. We greatly appreciate all of your help- none
of this would be possible without your support!
Thank you,
The Bronx is Blooming
photos
This is where photos will go once we build flickr integrationdonors
-
Anonymous
-
Cathy L
-
Catherine L.
-
Jason Schwartz
-
sara greenfield
-
I.C. Levenberg-Engel
-
Anonymous
-
Robert D.
-
Leonora and Adam Gogolak
-
SC
-
Matthew
-
Anonymous
-
Nolan
