2003 Grant Cycle

2003 Grant Cycle

The Park Slope Civic Council is proud to announce the 2003 Grant Awards. These grants, funded by the annual Park Slope Civic Council's House Tour, are awarded each year by the Civic Council's Grants Committee to projects at schools, charities, cultural institutions and other organizations benefiting the Park Slope community. The 2003 awards totaled $10,000; and the 21 projects are described below. The Civic Council is delighted to support these important local groups. They reflect the range and variety of active, creative organizations in Park Slope, and contribute greatly to the diversity and vitality of our community. Congratulations to all!

1. The 2nd Annual Sattva Center Emerging Arts Exhibition (Open Stage Theater)
The Open Stage Theatre (OST) is a not-for-profit organization that has created an Emerging Arts Promotional Collaborative seeking to promote grass roots organizations bysponsoring multi-media events in support of local community artists. The Sattva Center on 13th Street in Park Slope was chosen to sponsor this event last year. This year, again, the Center is providing a forum for emerging Park Slope artists for three Saturdays in April. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

2. Bare Bones Series (The Gallery Players)
The Gallery Players, now in its 36th season in Park Slope, needs no introduction to the Park Slope Community; and we have supported many of its efforts in the past. This year the funds granted were to help with a series of productions which aims to focus an audience's attention on the impact of the spoken word - eliminating the distractions of scenery, costumes, lighting effects, etc. (Please note: "Bare Bones" is not a series of play-readings, but rehearsed productions designed to engage an audience in the medium of language.)

3. Teen Arts Conference (BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Inc.)
BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange is a local institution that is known for its educational programs in dance, theater, performance art, and film/video work both in the local schools and in its own space. It was seeking funds to expand its Teen Arts Festival to be held over three days at different locations in the Slope area. The GC felt that promoting the involvement of teens (and their families) in the arts was worthy of our support.

4. The 2003 Memorial Day Concert (The Green-Wood Historic Fund)
The Green-Wood Historic Fund is a not-for-profit organization created to raise funds to preserve and maintain structures of historical, cultural, and architectural significance within the Cemetery. It works to enhance public awareness of the significance of the Cemetery and to sponsor educational programs and events, all of which are open to the public and many of which are free. They have presented a Memorial Day Concert for the past four years, and were asking for help with this year's event.

5. The Frances Residency Program (Park Slope Christian Help, CHIPS)
Three years ago CHIPS opened the Frances Residency Program for young, single, homeless pregnant mothers and their babies, who are usually referred by local hospitals, churches, synagogues, social service agencies, schools, and individuals, and who often come to the program with nothing. The grant is for money to purchase sheets, pillowcases, comforters, towels, wash cloths, and other supplies for their studio apartments.

6. Extra Family Activities. (St. Francis Xavier Action Youth Center)
The Action Youth Center is a non-profit, non-sectarian program serving youths, aged 6- 19. Originally organized in the 1950s as a recreational program for young boys, it has broadened to include girls, and to offer academic enrichment programs, homework support, conflict resolution and leadership training programs, etc. They are now expanding to include parents in a variety of activities: counseling, arts and crafts projects, and two family nights. The grant is to help with purchasing arts and crafts supplies and refreshments for one of the family nights, and supporting the concept of promoting family togetherness.

7. Fifth Avenue Committee Mural (Groundswell Community Mural Project)
Groundswell is a non-profit group dedicated to the creation of collaboratively designed community-based murals. They have designed murals throughout Brooklyn, and provided arts and project development training to a variety of marginalized groups. Our funding is to help with the creation of a mural on the side of the Fifth Avenue Committee's new building on 4th Ave.

8. Motivation Through Math Manipulation. (P.S. 282-P.T.A.)
P.S. 282 is celebrating its 40th year in Park Slope. We funded the restoration of their Science Zone last year, and this year their request this year was to help them integrate science and math by purchasing a variety of materials to help make basic math concepts concrete and demonstrable (e.g., frameworks, timers, counters, color tiles and cubes, interlocking units, balances, thermometers, etc.). We felt that the ideas and program were sound, and we voted to support their efforts.

9. Baking With a Spin. (Park Slope Senior Citizen Center)
Serving seniors in the community since 1973, The Park Slope Senior Citizen Center offers a variety of educational, recreational, and social services- plus lunch - to 70 -90 seniors daily during the week. The grant is for the purchase equipment (e.g., baking tins, bowls) ingredients, and other materials (e.g., aprons, mitts) necessary to enable the sharing and demonstration of recipes for baking healthy products.

10. Project S.H.O.P.S. (P. 77K @ 902)
P. 77K is a special education school, whose main site has been in Park Slope since 1985. Students attending the school have severe learning, communication, and behavioral handicaps. The school has an ongoing job development program, with students going to worksites throughout the year (e.g. to CHIPS, Meals on Heels, the Prospect Park Alliance, the BBG, etc.). A majority of the students do not have speech, and must communicate using picture symbols or communication devices. Project SHOPS (Students Helping Others in Park Slope) is a request to help them purchase an Alternative Augmentative Communication device which is a portable communication device, able to programmed (and re-programmed) to "say" a few words or sentences to make it easier for students, co-workers, and clients to understand each other.

11. Park Slope - Now and Then: A Project for the Explorers of Learning Gifted Program (St. Saviour Elementary School) St. Saviour Elementary School has been in our community for over 75 years, and engages in a variety of programs throughout the year. The request is for the children in their gifted program (The Explorers of Learning) to do a history of the Park Slope area: researching how familiar landmarks, buildings, and businesses have changed over the years. The funds granted are to be used to purchase materials for the project.

12. MS 51/NYU Educational Theatre Program/Metropolitan Opera Guild Arts Partnership Program.
(Wm Alexander MS 51 P.T.A.) The Wm Alexander MS 51 is one of only 31 schools citywide to receive an Arts Partnership grant from the NYC Center for Arts Education. MS 51 has been awarded funds for a three-year partnership with the two prestigious educational and arts organizations noted in the application title. The Center for Arts requires MS 51 to demonstrate its commitment to the Arts Partnership Program by finding funds to match the grant. We felt that it was important to give them some local support.

13. Replacement of Non-Working Copier (First Battle Revival Alliance)
The First Battle Revival Alliance (FBRA) works to preserve and publicize Brooklyn's role in the Revolutionary War and the 1776 action at the Vechte-Cortelyou House (The Old Stone House). FBRA works with local schools, offers public programs and heritage events throughout the year. The request was for the replacement of a donated copier that is no longer functional. They need a copier to disseminate information to teachers, students, and other groups partaking in their programs.

14. Community Orchestra Program/Class (Brooklyn Conservatory of Music)
The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, a fixture in our midst since 1897, is initiating a Community Orchestra. This is open to all who play an instrument, and once-weekly classes have been offered at very little cost to participants throughout this year. Because of its popularity, program/classes/orchestra will continue next semester. The group will offer free or low-cost performances throughout the year in Park Slope.

15. Harmony Playground Shade Structure (Harmony Playground Committee - Prospect Park Alliance) The Harmony Playground Committee, under the aegis off the Prospect Park Alliance, works to maintain the 9th Street Playground as a safe, clean area for young children to play in creatively. Not only is it a place to play, but special programs in the arts, education, and cultural milieus are offered there as well. The request was for the building of temporary shade structures that will be needed until the shade trees surrounding the playground grow to their full height.

16. The GIRLS of Camp Friendship (Camp Friendship)
Camp Friendship began in 1973 in order to send disadvantaged youth to a summer camp program. It has evolved into offering recreational and educational programming through the year to at-risk-youth. Originally geared primarily for boys, the program has expanded to include girls between the ages of 11-15. The grant is for funds to allow the girls to engage in a rope course, which "…will challenge them physically, spiritually, and intellectually, as well as requiring them to combine their efforts for the greater good of the group", according to the Director.

17. Project Write (Project Reach Youth, Inc.)
Established in 1968, Project Reach Youth (PRY) and its services to young people and their families needs no elaborate introduction to the Council. The request was specifically for the purchase of journals for 75 children at MS 88 to write in.

18. Alternative Energy Workshop Series (6/15 Green Community Garden)
The 6th Ave. and 15th Street Community Garden has successfully worked to clean up and make safe their neighborhood via a series of educational, cultural, and agricultural programs involving local children, youth, and their families. They are embarking a series of renewable energy workshops, focusing on demonstrating the use of solar energy in the Garden and, hopefully, eventually elsewhere. The GC strongly approved of the concepts in the application, and opted to award them the cost of one solar panel.

19. PSVAC Trauma Camp (Park Slope Volunteer Ambulance Corps)
The Park Slope Volunteer Ambulance Corps (PSVAC) was founded in 1992 to supplement the overburdened NYC Emergency Medical Services, and operated out of and were subsidized by NY Methodist Hospital. In 2002, they became independent, and are now located near the 78th Precinct station house, serving anywhere they are called, but primarily the nearby the Brooklyn neighborhoods. PSVAC, as its name indicates, is comprised of unpaid volunteers with a wide range of skills and experiences. The granted funds will be used to supplement expenses for holding a "trauma camp" to solidify, enhance, and advance the skills needed by their volunteers.

20. Computer and Monitor for Caregivers' Resource Library (Park Slope Geriatric Day Center)
The Park Slope Geriatric Day Center (PSGDC), founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization serving older adults with physical and/or cognitive limitations, working to help them remain at home in familiar surroundings rather than having to face being institutionalized. The present grant is for help with the creation of a Caregivers' Resource Library in order to be able to: access information, download necessary forms, have easy access to other social service organizations, etc. Specifically, the grant is to help with the purchase of a computer and monitor. .

21. Creating a Bilingual Library (P.S. 295 Library)
PS 295's library is run by parent volunteers, but is now staffed one day per week by someone who can help students on research projects related to the curriculum. The library has after-school hours twice weekly, and they are attempting to reach out to their large Latino population by having bilingual material available for them, thus encouraging them to use the library. They also wish to provide bi-weekly reading aloud sessions in Spanish, to which parents are invited to attend. The grant is for the purchase of books and supplementary materials needed for this effort.

Respectfully submitted to the Trustees by the Grants Committee, February 6, 2003: