11-2B Community Caring Institute
Grant Round:
2011 Fall
Grant Program:
Boston Grants
Grant Type:
Other Grants
Grant amount requested:
9,020.00
Attachments
Please provide a brief description of the project for which you seek funding.
Community Caring Institute (CCI) has been working on a campaign to stop the sale and development of Hellenic Hill, an undeveloped woodland overlooking Jamaica Pond. Our efforts have been well heard in Jamaica Plain (JP); however, our outreach has not been as diverse as hoped. In previous meetings, the participants have been mainly older, well-established residents of JP and have lacked the economic and racial diversity of JP. We propose to strengthen our outreach by reaching out to youth and minorities.
In order to get youth more involved, we plan to host sessions with the youth to educate local youth about the environmental, health, and social justice issues revolving around Hellenic Hill. Then, the youth will mobilize to attract more youth and to be advocates for the Hill and the Pond. Youth will personally meet with local leaders to discuss the long-term impacts of green space loss. The youth will organize an interactive workshop for local youth. This day will focus on youth and environmental advocacy, and at the end of the day, they will present to local leaders. They will help to organize youth-oriented events about Hellenic Hill, at which we expect music and other activities (youth-suggested), to draw out the community to emphasize the importance of Hellenic Hill. This event will also be an opportunity to get other youth involved in the workshop.
Community meetings to organize and to meet with politicians and Hellenic College will continue to happen. In order to reach more people, we will work with the youth and others to expand our list of people interested. We will increase outreach by hosting meetings in different locations in JP. Advertisements and information in Spanish will also increase outreach as well as bilingual meetings. The youth should be able to assist greatly in this and one staff speaks Spanish.
The program will be spread out over the year. We expect to host at least 6 community meetings, 2-3 meetings personally with local leaders, 1 youth oriented event, and a workshop.
The program has been led mainly by volunteers and some staff time of CCI. So far, we have hosted two community events and distributed materials. Together, the gatherings have drawn upwards of 300. Matt O’Malley, Jeffery Sanchez, Maura Hennigan, and Felix Arroyo came and stated their support. Furthermore, the CCI formed the Coalition to Save Jamaica Pond, a collaboration of prominent JP groups, like the Friends of Jamaica Pond, Jamaica Hills Association and more.
Primary Issue Area:
Land & Water
Please break-down/categorize the program expenses:
| Proposed Item | Estimated $ Amount | Would grant funds be used for this item? | Type Of Expense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth Stipends (6 youth, $50monthly stipend for a year) | $3,600.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Coordinator Stipends | $2,000.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Youth event food | $300.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Youth event materials | $100.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Youth event other supplies | $200.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Workshop food | $500.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Workshop prizes | $200.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Workshop renting space | $400.00 | Yes | Materials |
| workshop materials | $200.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Community Meetings Materials/Ads | $300.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Additional materials and supplies | $400.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Financial Management at 10% of expenses | $820.00 | Yes | Materials |
| Gerry Wright, % of salary | $3,500.00 | Materials | |
| Office Space, Meeting Space | $6,000.00 | Materials | |
| Photos and Materials donated by Stephen Baird | $1,000.00 | Materials | |
| Audio availability and set up for events | $300.00 | Materials | |
| Additional materials | $300.00 | Materials | |
| Prizes donated by local businesses | $200.00 | Materials |
Whom does your group need to make this project happen?
Please explain how your group will engage members from your community in this project.
Thus far, we have 1,074 signatures on our online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?savepond, and hope to reach 5,000 more people at least. While not all of the signatures will be active participants, information and opportunities will be presented to them. Our most successful campaign to get signatures was actually advertising for our Forum; we hung banners around town with materials next to them to take, and we saw about 100 new signatures a day online compared to the previous 10-20.
Youth and others will also go out into the community and collect petition signatures. We have stood at Jamaica Pond, by the boathouse, on weekends, and collected several pages of petitions. We set up a table with information and ask people coming into the park. Stephen often plays music to attract people as well. We can reach about 75-100 people in 2-3 hours per day per person doing this.
We hope to engage at least 100 more participants to meetings. The participation of young people is probably around 10% right now, and we’d like to increase that to 30% of the people more actively engaged (coming to meetings and such, not necessarily being a volunteer).
For our youth group, we hope to have 10 actively engaged youth who would attend regular meetings for education, research, discussion and planning. These youth would receive a small stipend for their work.
The youth-led workshop will hopefully draw 100 youth from across JP to participate and learn. This day long workshop will have youth-led advocacy workshops and will end with a presentation of letters, posters, and other things created by the youth to Save Hellenic Hill to a local leader. If appropriate, the materials will then be displayed around JP. Media coverage will also be there. Incentives to attend will include breakfast and lunch as well as other prizes.
The community meetings will take place in various locations in JP, to make it more convenient for different populations to attend. In addition, outreach in terms of petitions and more can be done in the community by the youth, either by setting up a table in their neighborhood or displaying information in their apartment complexes or housing developments. We also have community partners, such as the Tree of Life, that work in the low-income community. We can partner with them to have information available at their events.
If your group receives a NEGEF Grow grant, how do you plan to pay for remaining expenses?
| $ Amount | Source |
|---|---|
| $9,020.00 | NEGEF |
Please list these materials or services
| $ Amount | Item |
|---|---|
| $3,500.00 | Gerry Wright, % of salary donated for the year |
| $6,000.00 | Office Space, Meeting Space Donated |
| $1,000.00 | Photos and Materials donated by Stephen Baird |
| $300.00 | Audio availability and set up for events |
| $300.00 | Additional materials |
| $200.00 | Prizes donated by local businesses |
Please describe what changes will occur in your community and its environment when your group's project is successful.
We hope that there is no change, that Hellenic Hill remains the untouched, pristine woodlands that it is today! Education and involvement of the community will persuade local leaders to acquire more state and city funding to purchase land for conservation and as an addition to the Emerald Necklace (currently, there is already $1 million set aside to buy this land from the last time it went up for sale).
Our first basic measure of success is the number of petition signatures. These signatures send a clear message to local and state politicians and increase the likelihood of success for the government to purchase some of this land. They further send a message to Hellenic College, the institution thinking of selling the property, and persuade them to maintain good relations with community by selling it at a conservation price. The number of young people we can get to sign this petition also serves as an indicator of success, as more signatures will show that we are getting to our target audience.
Furthermore, the creation and implementation of the community programs, from the meetings to the workshop, will be evaluated throughout. Our objective is that the youth play a major role in planning these projects, which strengthen them as life long advocates for green spaces and emphasize the importance of Hellenic Hill for all generations. The coordinators’ job will be to assist the development of the youth and to help obtain other necessities for events.
The youth in the program will be assessed for their knowledge gained and the enjoyment of the process. Success will be determined by their ability to describe the Hellenic Hill issue to the community and their peers. Measures around the success of our programs will be determined by content, numbers, and enjoyment. Furthermore, from these activities, we should gain, at least, 50-100 more people who would be more active in the Save Hellenic Hill project- from writing letters to leading meetings in various sections of JP.
Please list how many people in your community your group expects to actively engage in this project.
400
What relevant skills does the group need (but does not currently have access to) to help move the initiative forward?
We are currently trying to partner with Herb Nolan of the Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Fund to get landscape architects involved in the process. This will be an educational experience for the youth and will provide advice on the different landscape plans that could be incorporated into the Hill if acquired for public use. The youth can also advise the architects about things youth would like to see in the space.
In order to ‘step up’ our initiatives, CCI needs extra funds to be able to run a more intensive youth program to help educate youth around the issues of Hellenic Hill and other environmental issues. These youth, in turn, will educate their peers, parents, other adults, and local leaders to help with the fight to Save Hellenic Hill. In addition, the youth will provide a bridge to other parts of the community, along with our community partners, and help attract a diverse population to community meetings.
What relevant skills do current members of the group have to help move the initiative forward?
Organizing, Community Connections, Web design, graphic design, program planning, program implementation, program evaluation, youth work experience, technical support (see attachment for further descriptions and the people who possess them)