Fair Work: Symposium on Cooperative Development

On December 18, 2009, we are hosting a symposium on Fair Work: Building and Strengthening Ties within the Worker-Owner Cooperative Community in New York City. Part of Center for Family Life’s Annual Sister Mary Geraldine Symposium series, the event will bring together cooperative members, organizers and others interested in discussing issues related to the growing worker-owned coop movement.

Following a closed morning session for cooperative members and developers, afternoon programs will include presentations on a variety of topics:

• Keynote speech by Stu Schneider of Cooperative Home Care Associates.
• The role of expert consultants in helping cooperative businesses succeed in a highly competitive marketplace (Presenter: Michael Melcher, CFL Advisory Board member).
• The role of cooperatives in advocacy and organizing for workers’, immigrants’ and environmental rights campaigns. (Presenters: members of the Beyond Care Cooperative and representatives of Domestic Workers United).
• A workshop on decision making, conflict resolution and the social/emotional benefits of participating in a worker-owned coop. (Presenters: members of the We Can Do It! Women’s Cooperative and Unity Cleaners)

The event will be held at the Murphy Institute in Manhattan; attendance is free. Programs open to the public will begin at 12:00 and end by 4:00 pm. Lunch will be served, courtesy of the Emigre Gourmet cooking collective.

If you have questions about the event, don’t hesitate to contact Vanessa Bransburg at vbransburg@cflsp.org or (718) 633 4823. Please RSVP by December 11 so we can reserve a seat for you!

Location: Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies,  25 West 43rd Street, New York, NY.

Center for Family Life Remembers Sister Mary Paul

Sister Mary Paul Janchill, 1920-2009

On November 11, Center for Family Life staff gathered at the new Sunset Park High School for an annual retreat dedicated to the memory of our beloved founder and leader, Sister Mary Paul Janchill, who passed away last May.

Speaking at the memorial were several of Sister’s longtime friends and colleagues, including Gretchen Lord, supervisor in the Center’s family counseling services; Hélène Onserud, director of our community school project at P.S. 1; Robert J. McMahon, executive director of our parent organization, SCO Family of Services; Brenda McGowan, James R. Dumpson Chair in Child Welfare Studies at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service and co-author of a book about Center for Family Life; Vanessa Baez-Sacasa, coordinator of our neighborhood-based foster care program; Amy LaTorres, director of our afterschool program at P.S. 503/P.S. 506; and Sister Paulette LoMonaco, executive director of Good Shepherd Services.

For those who could not attend the event, or would like to preserve memories of it, we are posting excerpts of the speeches below and some of the rare photos of Sister Mary Paul that were on display. The entire slideshow is available for download here (.ppt, 39 Mb).

Cooking East to West: A Cultural Culinary Course

If you love to cook, don’t miss our new, three-day course that introduces participants to the culinary traditions of Southeast Asia, the Middle East Latin America & the Caribbean. We invite you to learn techniques and recipes from the experienced home chefs of Émigré Gourmet – culinary craftswomen who will help you conjure the exotic flavors of their native cuisines – and chef instructors from Kingsborough Community College.

Those familiar with the neighborhood know that Sunset Park is a fascinating culinary destination. In its diverse immigrant communities, the ancient “spice route” is recreated in miniature within these three square miles of New York City. In the cultural groups that make up the Sunset Park, many families have preserved the culinary customs and traditions of their ancestors, and exotic ingredients they use to prepare these foods are relatively easy to come by. In this course, participants will not only to learn preparing traditional foods; the class will also provide an opportunity for informal discussion of the cultural context of each cuisine; for example, whether a certain dish is served to celebrate a bride’s wedding shower, to break the fast at Ramadan, or has some other particular significance.

Course sessions will take place on three consecutive Tuesday nights, beginning December 1, in our kitchen at Center for Family Life (345 43rd Street in Brooklyn). Sessions run from 6pm to 9pm. Cooking lessons are, of course, followed by a dinner together to enjoy the foods prepared by you and the instructors! The fee for the course is $150.

Class size is limited – reserve space now!

For more information, please contact Jessica Bonilla at (718) 633 4823 or jbonilla@cflsp.org.

 

Toward a “New Economy”

Photo: Annie McShiras

The Sunset Park cooperatives are in the news again! YES!, a nonprofit magazine that promotes “a just and sustainable world,” published an article about the Beyond Care Cooperative.

Jackie Amezquita isn’t your typical nanny. During the workday, she cares for her clients’ young children, educating and nurturing them. But as president of Beyond Care, a 19-member childcare cooperative based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, her reach extends far beyond those individual families…

Jackie explains that the cooperative forms a valuable support network for its members, who would otherwise be independent contractors: “I have a backing—a backing of a group of women, working for dignity and respect, working to empower the children that we are helping develop in this world. I have a real sense of solidarity with these women.”

Read the whole article here. If you are interested in Beyond Care’s services, check out their web site.

In September, the We Can Do It! Cooperative was featured on CNN and recognized by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in D.C. In recent months, the coops also appeared on the TV show On the Money, on NPR’s Weekend America and in Indypendent magazine.

Brooklyn Food Conference: Join Us at the Sunset Park Neighborhood Group

by Vanessa Bransburg

In May 2009 I attended the Brooklyn Food Conference at John Jay High School and PS 321 in Park Slope. The conference was organized by the Brooklyn Food Coalition, a grassroots initiative that aims to increase access  to sustainable, healthy and delicious food for all. With over 2,500 people in attendance, the event was such an incredible success that organizers started thinking and planning for the next steps almost immediately.

In the last few months there has been a large effort to reach out to multiple neighborhoods in Brooklyn to get residents, workers, activists, and others involved in their particular neighborhood groups. Neighborhood groups have been discussing and selecting issues that concern them. Some of the issues that have been chosen by groups include getting healthier lunches in schools, organizing community gardens, food coops, and addressing workers’ rights issues.

In September, we had our first Sunset Park Neighborhood group meeting at the Sunset Park Recreation Center. About 20 people attended, mostly organizers and activists at local organizations. Unfortunately the meeting attendees did not fully represent the diverse demographics of Sunset Park. A few of us made sure to bring this up and made a commitment that we would all recruit more workers and residents from Sunset Park.

The main themes that were brought up by the attendees were workers’ rights issues, access to fresh food, and education around nutrition and various types of foods that are sold at green markets and community gardens.

The next meeting will be on Monday, October 19^th at the Adult Employment Center of Center for Family Life (443 39th Street, 3rd Floor), where we will decide which issues we will tackle as the Sunset Park group. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join us for the exciting venture into the food world! For more information about the upcoming event, contact me at (718) 633-4823.

Ribbon Cutting at the Sunset Park High School

The  official opening of the long-awaited Sunset Park High School took place last Wednesday, September 23, 2009, with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony.  Speakers at the event included NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, NYC Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz,  NY State Assembly Member Felix Ortiz, and City Council Member Sara Gonzalez.

We Can Do It! in the National Spotlight

A big day for the We Can Do It! Cooperative: on September 15, coop members and the Center’s Vanessa Bransburg traveled to Washington D.C at the invitation of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. At the 2009 Public Policy Conference, part of the Hispanic Heritage Month event series, We Can Do It! was showcased as an innovative business that leads the way for Latinos in the green economy. We Can Do It! members were introduced by Brooklyn Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez.

CNN recently featured We Can Do It! in a profile of businesses across the nation where workers take charge.

We Can Do It! is a cooperative formed by Sunset Park residents that provides housecleaning services using green products and methods. Over the past three years, they have developed a thriving business and inspired many in our community and at the Center.

Their outstanding achievement is an example of how creativity, collaboration and perseverance can overcome the formidable barriers to economic success and business ownership that stand in the way for so many in Sunset Park.

Coops On the Money

The Sunset Park cooperatives supported by the Center were recently featured on the TV show On the Money, which addresses economic justice issues affecting New York City’s neighborhoods. The show is produced by the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), a resource and advocacy center for community groups, and airs on different channels around the metropolitan area. You can watch this week’s show about the coops on NEDAP’s Youtube channel. Here’s part one:

Our Annual Progress Report

Each year, the Center compiles a report that gives a detailed look at our work in each of our program areas. The new edition of our Progress Report is now in print; the electronic version can be downloaded here (pdf). The report covers the 2008 fiscal year.

As in previous years, we devoted a chapter to Sunset Park itself. In this profile, we seek to describe the strengths and needs of the neighborhood and its residents through a variety of perspectives, including the history of the neighborhood, demographics, economic trends, housing issues, health and safety, and education.

Highlights from the report:

In FY 2008, the Center engaged 13,508 individuals and 8,632 families in services that promote family stability, economic security, individual growth, and community development.

Our Family Counseling program served 448 families with 985 children in FY 2008. The program expanded to serve additional Chinese-speaking families, increasing our capacity to serve Sunset Park’s growing Chinese population, the third largest Chinese community in New York City.

The Center’s school-based programs at three neighborhood school sites engaged 6,097 children, youth and adults in group and community-building activities that promote social, physical, academic, artistic, and leadership development during out-of-school hours.

“Life Lines” Community Arts Project at M.S. 136/M.S. 821 celebrated 25 years of free, year-round arts and leadership programs for middle and high school youth with an alumni outreach project, a new Repertory Company, and a spring performance series at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

In Summer 2007, our Youth Employment Program coordinated summer jobs and supportive workshops for 1,457 youth at over 140 worksites, generating over $1.75 million in earnings benefiting Brooklyn youth and their families.

The Youth Employment Program expanded its service learning and college readiness activities, increasing total school-year enrollment by 65% in FY 2008. With support from YEP staff, 100% of 12th grade students in the Step-Up program graduated from high school and 98% were accepted to college.

Our food pantry provided 84,240 nutritious meals to families in need, serving an average of 780 individuals each month.

The Community Service Program’s free tax-filing services for low-income families yielded over $4.2 million in tax returns to 2,400 Sunset Park residents.

Non-Profit Quarterly: Focus on Immigration

In its Summer 2009 issue, Nonprofit Quarterly focuses on the issue of immigration, “taking apart and restitching the picture of nonprofits and their service, program, and advocacy relationships with immigrant populations.” Articles in the journal, including some web-only features, approach the issue from four perspectives: Community Development and Immigration, Immigration Policy, Immigrant Youth, and Immigration and Philanthropy.

“All nonprofits have a stake in treating, serving, advocating for, and supporting immigrants in this nation,” writes Rick Cohen in An Immigration Agenda for ‘Regular Jane and Joe’ Nonprofits. ” What should nonprofits be prepared to do?” Click on the link to read his recommendations. In Building Economic Power in Immigrant Communities- Lessons from the Field, author Analisa Nazareno offers case studies highlighting successful economic development practices in immigrant communities, including two of the most successful and innovative organizations to help Latino immigrants acquire the knowledge and financial tools necessary to achieve economic security, Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) in North Carolina and the Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) in Minnesota.

“Frequently, nonprofits view immigrant populations as accumulations of deficits, but for immigrant youth, nonprofits should also see the assets that can be built on and developed,” argue Cynthia Garcia Coll and Flannery Patton in Supporting Immigrant Youth – Removing Obstacles and Building on Strengths. The article discusses the strengths immigrant youth demonstrate in schools and in their communities, examines the institutional and contextual supports that foster their success, and describes non-profit programs and practices that have been the most effective in serving immigrant youth.

For more articles in this extensive collection, including in-depth discussion of issues related to immigration reform and the role philanthropies, visit the Non-Profit Quarterly’s web site.