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Community Grants The Community Grants program is a resource offered through a partnership between the United Way of Rhode Island and Making Connections Providence. Grants are made to resident leaders to develop innovative neighborhood based projects. A panel of residents makes funding decisions and successful proposals are for activities that most improve the lives of those living in the Making Connections Providence neighborhoods. Monetary funds, varying in value, are given to award recipients each year. Approximately ten grants are given out during each grant period. Once selected, the recipients follow specific guidelines to document the activity and its successes. All interested parties submit an application within a predetermined deadline. Resident Engagement and Leadership Team members will meet with applicants to answer any questions and assist in the presentation of the application. Grant recipients in 2006 include: Right To Vote A project that will involve and activate community members in the Making Connections neighborhoods around the issues of voting rights for the disenfranchised and civic participation. The overall desired outcome of this project is to establish and sustain community political power that will assist in efforts to craft agendas and social policies that rely on community input and oversight. From Boys to Men: Developing Stronger Connections for a Brighter Future From Boys to Men will serve young African American men between the ages of 15 – 17. This project seeks to provide strong role models who will establish fellowship and share experiences. A series of three workshops will be hosted. Key goals of the workshops will be to increase knowledge and strengthen relationships amongst men of the same age. Sackett Street/Elmwood Kids Café/After School Program The Sackett Street/Elmwood Kids Café/After School program has been convened by a group of concerned citizens who live and work in the Elmwood/South Providence community. Working with the RI Community Food Bank the goal of the program is to assist with the nutritional and educational needs of the children living within these neighborhoods. It is the intent that this program will encourage children to stay in school and become responsible for the growth and development of the community where they live and play. Jubilee Center / After School Program The Jubilee Career Center for the Performing Arts will implement a pilot Performing Arts After-School Program to be housed in either an Elementary School or Recreational Center in one of the Making Connections Providence neighborhoods. It is the goal of this project to create meaningful and engaging social networks and relationships for families and their children and the community at large. They seek to build ties that bind by fostering positive social networks within their communities inner city schools. The vision is to assist in the process of helping their communities create independence, better socio economic status, improved educational opportunities and choices for children pertaining to overall physical, social, emotional and intellectual well-being. Potters Avenue Neighborhood Community Garden & Park Project Involving eleven vacant lots located in South Providence, this project seeks to improve and sustain the community gardens and park that the Potters Avenue Community Group has been dedicated to for the past twenty six years. Over these years, the Community Group as well as other concerned citizens and organizations have cleaned these lots and established a community garden and green space to be used by all community residents. Residents in the surrounding area have watched as this space has been transformed from a dumping ground to a park and garden. This has unified this diverse neighborhood, creating a safer, beautiful and enjoyable environment to live and recreate in. Youth Leadership – Jasmin Woodbury An opportunity to empower youth in the Making Connections neighborhoods with leadership skills that can be exercised within their homes, schools and neighborhoods, this program will employ a two day leadership development retreat. Identifying high school age youth the program will outreach and network with a diverse group of young people from different cultural backgrounds who face racial, economic and educational disparities. The retreat will provide youth with the tools and skills to frame their messages in a way that can be understood by all members of the community. Community leaders will participate in the retreat, sharing valuable experiences and good role modeling. SEDC Workshops & Health Fair This project will provide the elderly and disabled community members of the Making Connections neighborhoods the opportunity to reach out and get to know their neighbors, be supportive of one another and to improve their personal perspectives on life as valuable members of their families and community. All over the age of 50, this group of 36 people will participate in a series of interactive courses, activities, and a Health Fair that will teach participants about engaging in positive relationships with their neighbors, each other and their families. Women are Our Life Force Women are Our Life Force is designed to enhance relationships between adult and young women of the South Side and West End of Providence. Incorporating a week long series of experiences for mothers and daughters that includes, films, readings, discussions and food leading to a weekend on Self Discovery these women will embark on an inward journey to find strength, discover weaknesses, and build solutions to change life for the better. Short workshops will focus on health and healthy habits, anger management, money management and tolerance. An adoptive component is key to the long term outcomes of the program. Those who are striving to make a serious difference in their own lives and the lives of others will adopt a family who needs assistance in understanding and navigating the ‘system,’ as well as offering reading and language tutoring. These adoptive mentors will then create a Mother Daughter book club which will culminate in a book of their own that includes the collaborative writings of all the women participants. Providence Community Gospel Festival The Providence Community Gospel Festival seeks to bring the Making Connections Providence community together to provide residents with a sense of connection. The concerts will encourage new talent, showcase experienced artists, and introduce a new audience to the healing power of Gospel music. It is intended that these concerts will provide a source of social interaction where relationships are strengthened and renewed. As a project that will be the catalyst for more community events and further community involvement, the benefits will occur well beyond the festival event. A wide range of individuals and organizations have come together on the planning committee, thus developing future relationships. Native American Cultural Education & Outreach The Native American Cultural Education and Outreach project will target youth of differing ethnicities between the ages of 6 to 18 in the Making Connections Providence neighborhoods. Seeking to impart the importance of culture, diversity and tradition, the Rhode Island Indian Council and local youth resident, Isja Williams will develop and implement a program for local youth to learn about Native American topics. The three recreation centers located in the Making Connections neighborhoods will assist in recruiting youth participants. Youth will reflect the varying races and cultures represented in the neighborhoods. Ensuing workshops and events will build a social network of diversity and culture. Native American elders will be the primary educators, sharing their traditions and heritage, instilling cultural pride amongst all participants.
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