First Parish in Concord: Social Action Grants Committee
Grant Request Cover Sheet
A. First Parish Sponsor
Name
Claudia Nimar
Street Address
172 Elm Rd .
City, State, Zip
Falmouth, MA 02540
Email Address
[email protected]
Date of Request
Are you a First Parish
Pledging Member?
2/7/14
x
Yes
No
Home Phone
Describe your relationship to Grantee Organization
Cell Phone
978-771-8216
I serve on the UU Urban Ministry Board of Directors.
B.
Grantee Organization Information
Organization Name
Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry
Contact Person
Greg Friedman
Title
Street Address
10 Putnam St.
Phone
City, State, Zip
Roxbury, MA 02119
Email Address
[email protected]
Organization's Annuall
Operating Budget
$1,414,500
I Development Coordinator
I 617-318-6010
Please describe the organization's mission
The mission of the UUUM is to unite communities and transform individuals through education, service, and
advocacy . We engage communities and congregations in social action and change, with programs that empower
youth and adults to realize their full potential.
c.
Grant Request Overview
Goals of project for
Renewal House - shelter res idents begin healing from the trauma of intimate partner
which grant is requested
violence and ultimately achieve independence.
Roxbury Youth Programs - underprivileged young people in Boston gain the skills and
confidence needed to succeed in school and in life.
Explorers Club - ch ildren develop a life-long love of exploration and learning.
Bethany House - young women , including those leaving domestic violence shelters, are
placed in affordable housing.
Jericho Road Roxbury -- Roxbury-serving non profits are better able to serve the
community because of capacity-building professional services provided by volunteers.
Briefly describe the
Target Population _
I. Roxbury Youth Programs participants are primarily African-American, with a growing
population of Latino youth. Most of our students attend Boston Public Schools, and
reside in neighborhoods characterized by high levels of poverty.
II. Renewal House residents generally come from poor neighborhoods in Greater
Boston . We serve male as well as female survivors; mo st of our residents are African
American and Latino/a, and an in creasing number are non-native English speakers.
III. Explorers Club serves elementary-school -a ge children from Roxbury and surrounding
communities such as Dorchester and Mattapan with a monthly exploration and learning
program . Nearly all are African American .
V. Bethany House (formerly Bethany Union, which merged into the UUUM in October
2012) provides affordable housing to young women in Boston, including transitional
housing to those leaving shelter.
VI. Jericho Road Ro xbury focuses on supporting Roxbury-serving non profits, which in
turn are able to serve the Roxbury community more efficiently.
Describe the Geographic
We serve approximately 300 people
directly through our various programs,
while our community outreach efforts
provide support and education to about
800 additional people (walk-in cl ients,
support group participants, domestic
violence hotline, training session
attendees, etc).
Roxbury and surrounding communities
location of Project
Total Project Budget
$1,414,500
How many people will be
affected?
Please list Other
Funding Sources
n/a (if not applicable, describe other
measurable goals in grant narrative.
I Grant Request Amount
FYTD 1/31/14
Individuals: $310,892
Board Members: $33,329
Congregations: $69,283
Grants: $160,110
Rental : $179,525
State Contracts (Renewal House only): $115,719
Interest and Miscellaneous: $1570
To whom should award check should be made payable?
$15,000
$
I UU Urban Ministry
D. First Parish Involvement
List First Parish members
involved in project
Patricia Waters -- UU Urban Ministry Board of Directors
Cynthia Mousseau -- Delegate to UU Urban Ministry; past Explorers Club/RYP activity
leader
Loretta Ho She rbl om - Volunteer Director of Funderburg Scholars; delegate to UUUM
Alec Walker and Caitlin Selle - Roxbury Youth Programs tutors
Gail Carey - Volunteer, Explorers Club chorus leader
Claudia and Joel Nimar - Board Member (Claudia); Volunteers, RYP and Renewal House
Beth Norton - Helped organize Hope Out Loud and "Sources" concerts
Concord Chorus Members and volunteers - participants in Hope Out Loud concerts
Sarah Wilfert - Co-organizes Secret Santa holiday giving at Renewal House
Lauren Bosler - Co-organizes Secret Santa holiday giving at Renewal House
Describe any other First
Parish connections
In 2013, 70 First Parish members provided financial support to the UU Urban Ministry,
including Funderburg Scholars .
Has organization or project received previous support (in all forms) from First Parish?
If so, please aescnoe
2005
$23,555
2006
$18,224
2007
$18,271
2008
$18,210
2009
$16,536
2010
$17,400
2011
$18,232
2012
$20,821
2013
$15,645
x
Yes
No
E. Grant Narrative: First Parish in Concord Social Action Grants Committee
The UU Urban Ministry is requesting fundin g from First Parish in Concord to support our programs for children, youth
and adults in Roxbury and nearby neighborhoods. We are blessed to have First Parish ' s partnership in this important
work and we are most grateful for the Social Action Committee's longtime support.
I. EDUCATION AND ENRICHMENT
In 2013 Roxbury Youth Programs developed a stronger relationship with Madison Park High School, a vocational high
school in our Roxbury neighborhood whose students consistently score well below the Boston Public Schools average for
Engli sh and Math proficiency (22 % and 30% vs. 55 % and 55 %, respectively) . We have served Madison students for a
number of years and have been aware that many of the school's students are unprepared for the MCAS and tend to
function below grade level. We are pleased to report that we established a partnership with Madison Park Freshman
Academy - the school's cohort of approximately 300 ninth graders - in order to provide interested students with muchneeded academic support. RYP enrollment has increased to more than 50 students, and we are hiring additional RYP staff
to support this growth. We are excited to be able to offer this important resource to young people in such need of
academic support. RYP ' s growth also means we are in need of additional volunteers, presenting an ideal opportunity for
First Parish in Concord members. Two volunteers from First Parish joined us thi s year, Alec Walker and Caitlin Selle.
We are fortunate to have many good volunteers , but Alec and Caitlin especially impressed RYP staff with their
cheerfulness and ability to connect with the youth - student feedback said the two are smart, eas y to approach, and even
fun ! (Due to family issues, however, Caitlin and Alec have had to suspend their volunteer activities for now.) First Parish
volunteers such as these - along with the wonderful Loretta Sherblom , who directs Funderburg Scholars - enable us to
offer young people a much higher level of programming than our small staff would be able to provide on its own.
RYP' s Sununer Campership and Sununer Employment programs provide fun and safe activities for children and
youth during the summer months - a time when violence tends to increase in urban areas. We are able to send more than
25 children to one of three renowned specialty arts camps that provide us with steeply reduced tuition, and we provide
"earn and learn" employment for 12-15 neighborhood teens.
Explorers Club, our exploration and learning program for eleme ntary-school-age children in Roxbury and nearby
neighborhoods, provides fun and education al activities and are often sponsored by Boston-area UU congregations. First
Parish member Gail Carey, for example, works with Explorers Club children each year preparing them to sing in our
annual Hope Out Loud concert.
Renewal House offers a free ESL class for shelter residents as well as community members. Led by volunteers, the ESL
program has also incorporated a citizenship class to prepare the students for the citizenship test. These classes are so
popular and helpful that we' ve increased them from once to twice a week .
II. HOUSING AND SUPPORT SERVICES
Renewal House is well known in Massachusetts as being at the forefront of attending to the spiritual needs of domestic
violence survivors. Faith-based support is increasingly regarded as crucial to helping DV survivors move on from their
trauma , and the State of Mass. has actually engaged Renewal House to speak about faith and recovery to other domestic
violence shelters . More than just a provider of shelter, Renewal House puts our shared UU faith into action by treating all
who stay at the shelter with love and respect, even maintaining contact with former residents after they leave shelter to
ensure they don't lose this important source of support and don ' t slip into social isolation. First Parish in Concord has
long been a great friend to Renewal House, both in terms of financial s upport and service. For more than 10 years First
Parish families have " adopted" the adults and children at Renewal House during the holiday season and bought "Secret
Santa" presents for upwards of 25 people based on their wish lists. The holidays can be especially stressful for families
who find themselves in shelter, and this generosity on the part of First Parish members goes a long way toward mak.ing
the season cheerier.
Bethany House, which provides affordable housing to young women , has begun providing transitional housing for
women leaving shelter and currently has nine post-shelter residents. We are so pleased to be able to address one of the
most critical problems in Boston - the lack of affordable housing - by adding to the city's scarce s upply of affordable
housing.
III. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Last spring Jericho Road Roxbury, our new service grant program, began matching the skills of volunteer professionals
with the needs of Roxbury-serving nonprofits. We currently have 12 projects underway. We initially recruited volunteers
from the three UU churches that helped us launch the program, but we are expanding the program to recruit volunteers
from additional UU congregations and we look forward to the participation of members of First Parish in Concord - the
congregation where Jericho Road Project was launched. Jericho Road Roxbury provides a wonderful way for UUs to put
their fai th into action through service work.
UU Urban Ministry Proposal to First Parish in Concord • Section E • February 2014 • Page 1 of 1