Inspiration from Morris Heights
May 28, 2012
4/14/12
Leave It Better had been teaching youth about environmental stewardship and growing food in PS 306 / MS 331 in the Bronx when one of the teachers suggested they do something with the vacant lot across the street. Dominique and Graham decided to transform the lot into an official NYC Department of Parks & Recreation GreenThumb garden. It's incredible to see the work they've done to build community and involve residents - especially youth - in growing food and transforming the formerly rat-infested vacant lot into a beautiful open space where food is grown, community is built, and youth leaders are created. Aside from community garden and youth development, they've partnered with BronxWorks to bring a new farmers market to the neighborhood.
Leave It Better has also formed a partnership with King of Glory Tabernacle Church, one of the churches that is part of Bronx Health REACH's Faith-Based Outreach Initiative. Through the incredible leadership of Addie Banks and Pamela Lindsay, the church's Groundswell Project has conducted a "Herb and Spice Your Life" workshop to teach participants how to cook healthy using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor food. With guidance from Bronx Health REACH, the church's pastor Hyacinth Stevens has also recently started preparing healthy snacks for the children in its afterschool program, and implemented a pilot "How to Stay Fly" (God's Health Squad for Teens) curriculum with their youth. The teen curriculum includes an Adopt a Bodega component after the nutrition lessons, which I'm excited to be involved in soon. They might choose to build upon the work started by the youth at MS 331 in adopting the 19 W. Tremont bodega across from the school (which is down the street from King of Glory Tabernacle), or they may choose to adopt a different bodega.
After working on my house's backyard garden today, I took a trip to the Leave It Better Kids’ Garden. I wanted to speak to Evelyn, a champion parent advocate in the community, as she had expressed interest in the Adopt a Bodega initiative. I am so glad to see Evelyn's interest in the Adopt a Bodega project because adopt a bodega projects in this community have so much potential, especially since Evelyn and others from the community, such as the parent coordinator at PS 306, know that Senator Gustavo Rivera honored Bakil, the owner of the 19 W. Tremont bodega, for his efforts to stock healthier foods. Even though Bakil is currently in Yemen visiting his family, I know Evelyn and the other community residents can come together and get the store (and other stores!) to stock healthier foods. It will be good for everyone. True community transformation.
Leave It Better had been teaching youth about environmental stewardship and growing food in PS 306 / MS 331 in the Bronx when one of the teachers suggested they do something with the vacant lot across the street. Dominique and Graham decided to transform the lot into an official NYC Department of Parks & Recreation GreenThumb garden. It's incredible to see the work they've done to build community and involve residents - especially youth - in growing food and transforming the formerly rat-infested vacant lot into a beautiful open space where food is grown, community is built, and youth leaders are created. Aside from community garden and youth development, they've partnered with BronxWorks to bring a new farmers market to the neighborhood.
Leave It Better has also formed a partnership with King of Glory Tabernacle Church, one of the churches that is part of Bronx Health REACH's Faith-Based Outreach Initiative. Through the incredible leadership of Addie Banks and Pamela Lindsay, the church's Groundswell Project has conducted a "Herb and Spice Your Life" workshop to teach participants how to cook healthy using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor food. With guidance from Bronx Health REACH, the church's pastor Hyacinth Stevens has also recently started preparing healthy snacks for the children in its afterschool program, and implemented a pilot "How to Stay Fly" (God's Health Squad for Teens) curriculum with their youth. The teen curriculum includes an Adopt a Bodega component after the nutrition lessons, which I'm excited to be involved in soon. They might choose to build upon the work started by the youth at MS 331 in adopting the 19 W. Tremont bodega across from the school (which is down the street from King of Glory Tabernacle), or they may choose to adopt a different bodega.
After working on my house's backyard garden today, I took a trip to the Leave It Better Kids’ Garden. I wanted to speak to Evelyn, a champion parent advocate in the community, as she had expressed interest in the Adopt a Bodega initiative. I am so glad to see Evelyn's interest in the Adopt a Bodega project because adopt a bodega projects in this community have so much potential, especially since Evelyn and others from the community, such as the parent coordinator at PS 306, know that Senator Gustavo Rivera honored Bakil, the owner of the 19 W. Tremont bodega, for his efforts to stock healthier foods. Even though Bakil is currently in Yemen visiting his family, I know Evelyn and the other community residents can come together and get the store (and other stores!) to stock healthier foods. It will be good for everyone. True community transformation.
It was also so inspiring today to speak with Annie Rogers at the Leave It Better Kids’ Garden. Annie is a perfect example to me a of a long-time community member who knows what the community needs and does what she can to make that happen. There are many active, concerned citizens out there like Evelyn and Annie who do everything in their power to bring change to the community. It’s activists like this who inspire me and make me want more than ever to make sure they have the information they need to make their efforts as productive as possible.
One of the ways in which I feel I can best contribute to efforts like those in the Morris Heights community is through helping make resources and information available to people so they can then use that information to create change in their communities. We must tell the inspirational stories of people working to change their communities, and just step in to provide additional information when needed. Foremost, we must recognize the sleeping giant of hidden power held in residents of underserved communities. People have a passion to see change made, they just might not always have the know-how to see their visions come to fruition. And that’s why by loving a community and pouring our time and energy into understanding their perspectives, and where we can best help meet their needs, is so important. The passion for the change comes from inside. There may be a spark which can be lit by providing information, technical expertise, and success stories from others' experiences that are not ordinarily readily available in these communities, but the match that will get lit is already sitting inside of each and every person.Posted by Kelly Moltzen.
