At the Brashear Association, we also have the opportunity to create solutions to challenges. For example, last year, we noticed that a lot of the kids we worked with in Allentown, one of Pittsburgh's Hilltop neighborhoods, had the perspective that healthy food was something unavailable to them because they live in a food desert. Healthy food was not just unavailable, it was undesirable, because who
really wants to eat their vegetables? This challenge was an opportunity for us to create a healthy food camp through our Allentown Summer Academy. We wanted to give them a chance to see for themselves what "healthy food" is all about. We received donations from our board and the community: blenders, coolers, and cash to buy food. Our friends at the
Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community had a benefit yard sale for us, and the Hilltop United Methodist Church let us use their space.
KEYS AmeriCorps and
Duquesne University kept us staffed with great folks.
The Grable Foundation, theW.I. Patterson Charitable Fund, and the
Birmingham Foundation gave us grants to fund our summer efforts, and of course, where would we be without the
PA Neighborhood Partners Program...
As a result of this community effort to enrich the lives of our youth, we were able to make snacks and smoothies every day for our four-week summer camp. We planted seeds, ate our way through the color wheel, and made art along the way. We had picnics in Grandview Park and enjoyed visits from the
Carnegie Library and Kristin Hughes of
Fitwits. It was a great summer, and this summer, we're going to do it again. This time,
with your help, we hope to make it even better.
-Renee
yesssssssss! love it!
ReplyDelete