Dear ACEs Connection Community -
Until recently, I was the Chief Learning Officer at a national non-profit organization called Community Solutions. Last summer, I co-facilitated a group of community stakeholders, all of whom were committed to the act of creating a 'community response model that would mitigate the effect of childhood exposure to domestic violence'. The work was place-based, focused on Brownsville, Brooklyn.
During the course of our facilitation, the group determined a need for trauma-informed teaching practices at a local elementary school (Riverdale Avenue Community School, RACS). We connected the group (including the school) to Prof. Chris Blodgett, principal investigator of the Collaborative Learning for Educational Attainment and Resilience (CLEAR) model (I'm sure you're all most likely familiar with Prof. Blodgett and his work), and we're currently looking for funds to support the execution of a demonstration project.
RACS (PS 446), is an elementary school in Brownsville, Brooklyn. 98% of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches with 25% of children qualifying for special education services. More than 20% of the children at the school are experiencing homelessness.
Brownsville is a vibrant and history-rich neighborhood, but one wherein the major indicators of poverty overlap – over 30% of residents live below the federal poverty line and more than 40% of working age residents are unattached to the workforce. These harsh realities are due in large part to years of systemic marginalization and institutional neglect. And while the residents of Brownsville continue to work hard to strengthen their community, through organizing and accessing as many resources as are available to them, the traumatic impact of these conditions cannot be overstated.
A group of us, supporters of Brownsville and the school community, have committed to help find funds to support the execution of a CLEAR demonstration project at RACS. We know the 'proper' path to do this is via philanthropic / municipal investment - a path we are also taking - but the school is ready now to do this, and if we wait until our funding ducks are aligned that may not be the case.
How do I know the school is ready? On March 10th of this year the school went through the CLEAR consent process and a full 84.9% of the school community voted to move forward with the program. So, to make this happen on a practical timescale for the school, we're going the crowdfunding route in the short term.
I'm writing to ask for any assistance that comes to mind in support of this work. We've learnt from crowdfunding experts that the key to success is getting the story into the hands of people who care, and that have resources. Can you help share this work, might you consider a contribution, is there someone we should talk to, or a group who might help us?
This work is so important to the community, and we are committed to making this happen - any help would be sincerely appreciated. The campaign page can be found here.
Thank you so very much,
David Thompson
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