Dear Partners,
You are invited! Please join us on Thursday, December 20th to celebrate our partnerships and recognize our collective efforts to build a vibrant community of infinite opportunity in the South Bronx with goodies, drinks, and holiday cheer. Please RSVP here. We look forward to seeing you there!
SBRT Holiday Reception
Thursday, December 20 | 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Children's Aid Bronx Family Center | 1515 Southern Blvd.
Wine, beer, and snacks | RSVP Here
Dear Partners,
We hope you had a great Thanksgiving! This Fall has been a time of reconnecting and rejuvenation for the SBRT Team. Specifically, November has been an exciting month of “firsts” for our Network. Here is what we've been up to!
In October, our team joined over 500 collective impact leaders at the StriveTogether annual convening.
The two-day gathering gave us the opportunity to reconnect with others in our New York State Cradle to Career (C2C) network and “Backbone Teams” across the nation.
The convening included a full menu of workshops on topics like racial justice, student and community voice, continuous improvement, and adaptive leadership. Our very own Data Manager, Veronica Cuellar, co-presented a session on data culture in collective impact partnerships. Overall, this experience brought us back clear-eyed, focused, and inspired to get results and deepen our community engagement.
Our first SBRT Expo was a resource fair for families and community members. Over thirty partners were in attendance to share information and empower our South Bronx residents.
Tremendous gratitude to the South Bronx entrepreneurs, leaders, and literacy advocates who supported us – NYPL’s Morrisania Branch, 1.5 Million Books, The Bronx is Reading, Boogie Down Books, The Lit Bar, Born Juice, and Literacy Inc. A major thank you to Montefiore Hospital for coordinating a book drive for the event - every SBRT Expo attendee was able to walk away with a book and the ability to expand our neighborhood's culture of literacy.
SBRT especially thanks Councilmember Rafael Salamanca Jr. and his office for their partnership and sponsorship of the event. Thank you for believing in the power of collective impact!
Building on the success and excitement of our Kindergarten Readiness work, SBRT launched its Early Years Network this month with a Roundtable discussion and webinar. Our members discussed the importance of building trust between parents/caregivers and providers, the value of tying community voice with decision-making power, and the necessity of centering early childhood work on the needs and realities of families.
Join Our Early Years Network – Fill out our General Interest Form.
Save The Date – Join us at the next Early Years Network Roundtable at 2 pm on January 15th at 1515 Southern Blvd.
Questions, Suggestions, or Comments - Contact Lara Kyriakou, our Early Learning System Manager, for more information.
Are you interested in these discussions? Do you have suggestions? If so, Click here to sign up!
Join us in welcoming Kate Ford to the SBRT team! In addition to being the new Chief of Staff at Phipps Neighborhoods, Kate will also serve as one of SBRT's Senior Advisors. Some of you may have met her during the Expo and Early Years Roundtable. We are excited to have Kate's leadership, strategic guidance, and thoughtful partnership in our fold!
Sincerely,
Michael Partis
This webinar will explore the early childhood landscape in the South Bronx. Key topics will be parent and family engagement, community participation, and the creation of a South Bronx Playgroup. Please RSVP here: https://bit.ly/2KyzDy0.
Dear Friends,
Next week, we are launching our new Early Years Roundtable! This is a meeting of providers, parents, and community members who will come together to advocate for issues impacting children 0-5 years old in Community District 3. Please RSVP here.
Early Years Roundtable
Thursday, November 15 | 4:30-6:30 PM
Children’s Aid | 958 East 176th St.
RSVP here
Dear Partners and Neighbors,
The SBRT Expo is THIS SATURDAY! A special thank you to Councilman Salamanca Jr. for sponsoring the event. We have more than 30 partners confirmed to attend the Expo. There will be free resources, giveaways, and prizes - including gift cards and an iPad! We look forward to seeing you there and encourage you to bring your families.
The SBRT Expo
Saturday, November 3 | 3:00 PM-5:00 PM
Children’s Aid College Prep Charter School | 1232 Southern Blvd.
Click here for more information.
Dear Partners and Neighbors,
We hope that the Fall season and the first few weeks of the school year have been fruitful! As the days begin to shorten and the weather gets colder, we all begin to turn our minds to keeping our momentum and sustaining our work for the months ahead. We are pleased to share a few exciting updates and information about upcoming events with you.
On September 20, we held our first Stakeholder Convening of the year. Over 60 stakeholders, including several new partners, joined us to network, reconnect, and chart the course ahead. Many thanks to all who were able to participate!
This month, we added two new members to our Backbone team - Lara Kyriakou and Arlene Torres.
As SBRT's Early Learning System Manager, Lara will lead our Robin Hood Foundation-funded work with children ages 0-3 and their families by working with home-based childcare providers and numerous other stakeholders to ensure they are ready for school and life. Lara brings over a decade of experience in childhood development and researching the effects of stress on parenting and infant development. Arlene joins us, as our Family Organizer, in addition to supporting our community outreach efforts; she will develop SBRT's new South Bronx Playgroups for families and children. Please join us in welcoming them to the SBRT family!
With plans in place and new staff aboard, we are excited to see all of you at our November events!
SBRT Expo - With generous support from Councilman Rafael Salamanca, Jr., on Saturday, November 3 we are holding the first-ever “SBRT Expo” - a resource fair for South Bronx children, youth, and families. There will be free school supplies, giveaways, and prizes - including gift cards to Stop & Shop and The Children's Place and an iPad mini. Many SBRT partners will be there to share resources and celebrate with the community. Please spread the word and click here for more information!
SBRT Roundtables - November will also see the launch of the SBRT Roundtables we announced last month at the Stakeholder Convening.
Come out Thursday, November 8 for the inaugural College, Career & Civic Life Roundtable, where we will focus on college success, employment & career exploration, and civic engagement. How can we make sure our youth and young adults learn, live, and work in our neighborhoods? What can we (schools, community-based organizations, and others) do to support this work? Join us as we talk to Bronx students, youth organizers, and social entrepreneurs about how they tackle these questions. RSVP here.
On Thursday, November 15, we will launch our new Early Years Roundtable and explore the early childhood network in Morrisania! This is a convening of providers, parents, and community members, who bring different and crucial perspectives on the strengths and challenges of supporting young children and families in the South Bronx. Insights from this group will lead to community-driven policy recommendations and actions plans. RSVP here.
Sincerely,
Michael Partis
Dear Friends,
The SBRT Stakeholder Convening is one week away and space is limited.Please RSVP today! During the meeting on Thursday, September 20th there will be exciting SBRT updates, an exchange of ideas, refreshments, and much more. We look forward to seeing you there!
SBRT Stakeholder Convening
Thursday, September 20 | 3:00-5:00 PM
MCNY Bronx Campus | 463 East 149 Street, Bronx, NY
RSVP Here
Sincerely,
SBRT Backbone Team
Dear Friends,
We hope you are enjoying the last few weeks of summer!
South Bronx Rising Together is excited to share that our backbone team is growing. Please see the job postings below, and share with your networks. If you know anyone that may be a good match, please encourage them to apply!
School Age Network Manager
Family Organizer
Sincerely,
SBRT Backbone Team
The end of the school year is a great time to celebrate the work it takes to educate our young people. It is an effort that requires not only teachers and school staff, but also families and community. In that spirit, we’d like to invite you to join us at the SBRT End of the School Year Celebration on Monday, June 25!
Come mingle over drinks and snacks with some of the people in our schools and neighborhoods who work to make our community a place of infinite opportunity. You’ll also have a chance to meet Michael Partis, our new SBRT Director, and share your perspectives on what it will take to help South Bronx children and youth succeed.
To truly help us make this an event with community impact, please consider bringing another resident or community member with you!
We look forward to seeing you on the 25th!
SBRT End of the School Year Celebration
Monday, June 25 | 4:30 - 6:30 PM
Children's Aid Bronx Family Center - 1515 Southern Blvd
Wine, beer, and snacks
Friends,
We are pleased to share the exciting news that Michael Partis has joined the South Bronx Rising Together backbone team as SBRT Director! Michael will work closely with the two of us, the other members of the backbone staff, and all of you to continue identifying, creating and connecting opportunities for children and youth in the heart of the South Bronx from cradle through college and career.
Michael is a Bronx-born educator, researcher, and social entrepreneur. Prior to joining South Bronx Rising Together, he was a Lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at CUNY Brooklyn College and Assistant Adjunct Professor of Urban Studies at LIU Brooklyn. As a member of Fordham University’s Bronx African American History Project, Michael has given over 50 walking tours, presentations, and workshops about the Melrose/Morrisania/Crotona community. He is co-founder and co-director of The Bronx Brotherhood Project, a grassroots, community-based college success program for black and Latino teens.
Since 2010, Michael has led community development programing and policy research for the non-profit organization Young Movement Inc. He’s worked with the Howard Samuels Center for State and Local Policy, the Center for Court Innovation, and NYC's Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Currently, he is co-editing, with Fordham University Professor Mark Naison, a volume of post-1970 oral histories from Bronx residents.
Michael is very interested in and available to meet with any South Bronx residents, partners, and other stakeholders over the next few weeks. (Please feel free to reach out to him at michael@risingtogether.org). Otherwise, you will have an opportunity to meet him at upcoming SBRT events, CAN meetings, Community Board 3 meetings, and visits to schools and other sites throughout the SBRT zone. Please join us in welcoming him to SBRT!
Along with our talented backbone team of facilitators, Deneisha Thompson and Carlos Rosales, and data manager, Veronica Cuellar, the dedicated membership of our Leadership Council, and all the wisdom and energy of our CAN leaders and members, we are poised for greater impact in the years ahead. And – to be clear – we will continue to be with you at every step. Michael will report directly to us, and we will ensure that he will build on the strong relationships and collaborative action that has defined SBRT over the past four years.
We appreciate your continued partnership and thank you for your commitment to the South Bronx.
Best,
Elizabeth Clay Roy and Abe Fernandez
Dear Partners,
Are you:
If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, please join us on Thursday, April 26 from 2-5 PM for an exciting professional development opportunity focused on continuous improvement. This workshop will be facilitated by Ali Slack, Director of Continuous Improvement at the Student Success Network.
SBRT is committed to building a community of learning and to sharing practices that help us all improve our work indiviually and collectively. We hope you will consider joining us for this free workshop and opportunity to align your important work in Bronx Community District 3 with ours. Let's get better together!
SBRT Continuous Improvement Workshop
Children's Aid Bronx Family Center
1515 Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY 10460
Thursday, April 26 | 2-5 PM
Please note that space is limited. RSVP today!
Happy New Year! We hope you had a restful and happy holiday. As we welcome 2018, we'd like to remind you that you are invited to join South Bronx Rising Together as we relaunch our Collaborative Action Network (CAN) focused on our All are Ready for Kindergarten goal.
Over the past several months, SBRT has been taking steps to move key projects under this goal forward, as outlined in our Vision to Action progress report. We hope to bring providers, community members, policymakers, and other stakeholders together to make a positive impact on early childhood education and healthy development.
Efforts include:
Join us next Wednesday, January 10 – whether you are an existing or new partner – to help us support the children and families in Bronx Community District 3. Feel free to share this invitation with staff, partners, or other interested stakeholders as we work towards change. For more information, contact Carlos Rosales, SBRT Facilitator at crosales@phippsny.org or by phone at 917-497-9856.
We look forward to seeing you next week!
SBRT All are Ready for Kindergarten CAN Relaunch
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 | 9:30 - 11:30 AM
Children's Aid Bronx Family Center - 1515 Southern Blvd, Bronx, NY
Light refreshments will be provided.
