PASA

PASA stands for Providence After School Alliance and works with middle school and high school aged students through two different models, AfterZone and the Hub. Their team consists of about sixteen people ranging from the executive director down to the site coordinators. Each team member has their own unique job description and responsibilities. After looking through the positions offered at PASA, one that really stood out to me was the Development and Communications Consultant. The person in this position supports PASA’s fundraising and communications activities. Doing the "behind the scenes" kind of things for programs always stood out to me and getting into fundraising and activity planning are just some of the behind the scenes action that happens at these types of programs. To be qualified for this position, I feel as though it could be helpful to have some background in non profits and how to plan and facilitate activities, being able to adjust them to various age groups. However, I was shocked when I read that the current person in this position has a degree in Kinesiology. Something exciting about being in this position is you are the person doing most of the fundraising. It must feel great to raise money for your organization and see the improvements and enhancements that money brings. However, fundraising is not always easy. It can be challenging but also so rewarding in the end. I think the hardest part is coming up with fundraisers that will cost little for the organization to host but will bring in a decent amount of money. One question I have for Brittney is if she is aware of the fundraisers and the amount they bring in, what is the organization's most successful fundraiser and how much on average does it usually bring in? 
                       

New Urban Arts

New Urban Arts is a nationally-recognized community arts studio for high school students and emerging artists in Providence, Rhode Island. Their mission is to build a vital community that empowers young people as artists and leaders to develop a creative practice they can sustain throughout their lives. The program is free and students are free to come as much or as little as they wish. There are various different art programs for them to chose from and they are not required to do the same ones every time they go. New Urban Arts also shares some demographic information on their website which was great to look at and analyze. According to the NUA website, "61% of participants are female, 37% are Hispanic/Latino, and 82% of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch based on income guidelines. These were just some of the highest percentages that stood out to me." Additionally, "94% of our students are from five ZIP Codes; 02904, 09205, 02907, 02908, and 02909 where collectively the poverty rate for families with kids is 34%, almost twice the national average." 94%. That is a huge chunk of the programs participants from all different areas. I chose to look at zip code area 02904. According to the American Fact Finder website, this area has a median household income of $37,287. About 22% of individuals living in this area are living below the poverty level. As I looked further into the information on housing, race, and income, I could depict that people living in this area are not struggling as much as opposed to some of the other zip codes listed on the NUA website. The graduation rate in this area is about 85%. This could mean that there are not many high school drop outs and students have access to enough resources to be able to graduate from high school. This area is also close to three colleges: RIC, PC. and Brown University. One might infer that people living in this are going to these schools. NUA as a whole serves a wide population and participants of the programs come from all different backgrounds. However, NUA does a great job at making sure everyone feels welcome and provides a safe space to all who join.

Theory of Change

                         

For my blog post this week, I took the chart from the Theory of Change reading and made it into a google doc. Please see the link below to access my chart/post for this week. Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DzU7IuPwQDdKSTgvdxDspcopwL9jfypoQkiwFlvqUeQ/edit

   

#BlackLivesMatter

The Black Lives Matter movement is an organization led by people of color hoping to promote equality and justice. The movement began after a number of black men were either injured or killed due to police brutality. In the documentary "Stay Woke", they focused on the homicides of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin. Also discussed was the first video evidence for the movement, showing Eric Garner being wrestled to the ground by police. With George Zimmerman being found not guilty and Officer Darren Wilson not being indicted, the movement expanded more and more. Police started pulling out weapons on women and children, including the use of tanks and tear gas. This pushed the movement further and further. People were filled with anger and hate, which caused many riots and looting of local businesses. These riots were started by young people. The space was created by young people. The young activists were the ones in the streets; the ones getting tear gased. They didn't want the older civil rights activists taking over what they had created.

While writing this, I feel like I found it challenging to find the right words to use when talking to a young person about this movement. This is a very touchy subject in society and I don't know how I would discuss this with a young person. So one important question that I have is how do others feel they would address this issue with young people if it arose? Would you discuss it differently if a young person of color approached you rather than a white young person? I think trying to find the right language and simplifying it was the hardest part for me.