July/August Journey Notes

Dear Miracle Believers, 
“Ask and you sha’ll receive, continue the faith to stay on your journey.” We have been continuing to move forward towards building community, collective work, and reclaiming our sense of agency and ownership in our community. We just ended our Community Basketball League in Jerry Burrell Park, we are planning for our upcoming fundraiser on September, we’re in the garden harvesting food for the community, and architects are helping us to plan and visualize for the space in our community center!
Yoga & Basketball Jerry Burrell Park
This past month has been jammed packed with our Community Basketball League in the park. There were live local performances, yoga fitness classes, books being borrowed and read, and so much talent and athleticism in one space. Of course, this happened with the commitment of several community volunteers who helped organize, implement, and donate all of their Saturdays in July to our community and this work. They are the real MVP’s!!!
Upcoming Fundraiser – MJ Vs. Prince
We are very ecstatic to let you know that our next fundraiser is September 14th at 6:30pm at Tropics Bar & Lounge. The theme is Michael Jackson Vs. Prince! Yessss! Please come dressed in your best MC or Prince Costume. We will have trivia, karaoke, impersonations, performances, raffle prizes, and great food! Please join us for a night of fun. This is a 21+ event. Please register for this event on Eventbrite.
Building 101
We are continuing steps to move forward to renovating the Carver Community Center. We are very happy to be working with Barbara Nelson from TAP Architect firm who has been helping the team to visualize the space and offerings inside the building as she starts to make layouts of the spatial opportunities. We are also very thankful to be working with Ted DeBarbieri, David Craft, and The Albany Law School’s Development Clinic on this project.
We’re still in the process of sending information over to the NYS Dept. of Parks & Preservation to see if the building will be eligible for historic registry, so stay tuned! We look forward to continuing re-creating this center with the help of many, many, community residents, businesses, organizations, and countless individuals all over.
Gardening
It has been quite a rainy season and this has caused for a ton of weeding! But, we made it! We are still learning how to grow food for ourselves and our community together. We have beans coming up, tomatoes, collard greens, carrots, onions, and maybe potatoes. This summer many individuals and organizations have visited and helped with our garden including Schenectady Girls scouts, Seat center, youth serving community service hours and many, many friends in the community!  We’re always looking for folks to help weed and water in the garden. Also, if you have a group you would like to bring for a visit, please contact us! We’d be happy to host your group and educate them on urban gardening.
Our Next Open Meeting is September 6th 2017 at 6:30pm. Our meetings are open to all community residents. As community building is the top priority for us, members of organizations and other formal groups are asked to schedule to meet with us at a separate time. If you are not sure where you fit in, please don’t hesitate to reach out, we encourage your support.

We’ll check back in with you all in September!!!

Much Love,
​
Rosa Rivera
 
 
 

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