COPN - Community Organizing Projects of NOAH
Manlio Mendez, Community Organizer at (617) 418-8242
The Community Organizing Project of NOAH (COPN) was launched by NOAH’s Community Building and Environment Department in 2003. Through COPN, NOAH organizes residents to identify issues and implement solutions within their community. COPN applies a traditional grassroots, direct-organizing model based on personal relationships, power-building and participant control. Issues and solutions are participant-defined. COPN provides an opportunity for immigrants and others who have not yet been involved in, or in some cases have been excluded from, neighborhood participation to learn the power of civic democratic action and community organizing to bring about tangible improvements and lasting social and environmental change.
Chelsea Creek River Revel
This year's festival will be held on June 14, 2008. The River Revel is a free multi-cultural annual festival organized by mutliple communities, and includes talent shows, a road race, music, food, games and youth activities. It is held on the Meridian Street Bridge, which is closed to traffic that day. The event can be accessed from both the East Boston and the Chelsea sides of the bridge. For more information, please visit http://www.chelseariverrevel.com.
ESOL - English for Speakers of Other Languages
These classes are an opportunity to learn and practice Beginners English at whatever level you are comfortable with and to learn from other participants and from the facilitator. This program is free with a refundable $20 deposit. Classes meet at the NOAH office on:
Level One: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:00 PM
Level Two: Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 to 8:00 PM
For more information, please call Manlio Mendez directly at (617) 418-8242.
Schoolyard Summer Program & Schoolyard Initiative
- O'Donnell Schoolyard Summer Program, East Boston
- Fun recreational activities for 5-11 year olds
- 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM
- Free breakfast and lunch served
- Call or email Manlio Mendez at 617-418-8242 for more information
The Schoolyard Summer Program is held at the O'Donnell Elementary School, and will be open from July 7th to August 2nd in 2008. Breakfast and lunch are available to promote a healthy start to the day and good nutrition, and to help those in most need of food assistance.
Schoolyard Initiative Means Renovation and Beautification
NOAH has renovated the following East Boston schoolyards:
- Alighieri || Guild || Kennedy || McKay || O’Donnell || Otis
- The Adams Schoolyard is scheduled to be renovated in the Summer of 2008.
NOAH’s East Boston Schoolyard Initiative involves school communities (parents, neighbors, students, and school personnel) in the revitalization of public schoolyards from barren, cracked asphalt to safe and attractive spaces for learning, recreation, and community use. After construction, schoolyard committees sustain the improvements by planning and implementing schoolyard-based programs, events, and educational activities. Along the way, community ties are strengthened, as participants become permanent stewards of these important spaces. NOAH has worked with and/or currently works with schoolyard committees at the Alighieri, Guild, Kennedy, McKay, O’Donnell, and Otis schools.
We estimate that it takes two and a half years to develop a diverse Schoolyard Committee, complete the design process, and renovate the schoolyard. NOAH’s East Boston Schoolyards Initiative has been so successful that it served as one model for the citywide Boston Schoolyards Initiative.
E3C - Chelsea Creek Environmental Youth Crew
Laura Crandall, Youth Program Coordinator (617) 418-8243
NOAH’s Environmental Chelsea Creek Crew (E3C) employs seven East Boston teens to work with the Chelsea Creek Action Group (CCAG) on projects/issues related to the Chelsea Creek Restoration Partnership (CCRP). The youth learn how to be local leaders as they participate in the clean up and redevelopment of polluted sites, long-term scientific field studies (in conjunction with the Urban Ecology Institute (UEI), and the development of programs related to ecological, environmental, recreational, and health issues associated with the Chelsea Creek and its shorelines.
E3C is a way for NOAH to provide environmental, economic, civic, and public-health education to East Boston’s youth while also providing them with year-round employment, hands-on experience and experimental learning. Read more about the E3C Program.
Chelsea Riverway Art & Community Landscapes
The Chelsea Riverway Art & Community Landscapes project is an artist residency project that supports the Chelsea Creek Restoration Partnership by providing opportunities for community members to create photographs, sound recordings, and puppets that re-story Chelsea Creek—that document and communicate its history and ecology, people and places. Re-storying Chelsea Creek has three parts: 100 Views, 100 Sounds, 100 Puppets.
Artwork, including photographs, from the project were displayed at Logan Airport and elsewhere.
CCAG - Chelsea Creek Action Group
Monthly meetings of community organizers, concerned residents and business leaders.
The Chelsea Creek Action Group (CCAG) is a coalition of Chelsea and East Boston residents (the Chelsea Creek Action Group) and two non-profit organizations: NOAH and Chelsea Green Space and Recreation Committee. CCAG seeks to reclaim the neglected, contaminated Chelsea Creek as an environmental, recreational, economic, and educational asset for East Boston, Chelsea, Revere and the region. CCAG is a vehicle for informing and empowering residents, including youth, to build stronger community leadership and healthier, more vibrant neighborhoods, as they learn about how environmental justice issues affect them directly.
NOAH's Community Building and Environment Department (CBE) works with community members to improve the environment, enhance the quality of life, and develop the leadership skills of residents in East Boston and beyond. Our goals include working to:
We achieve these goals by involving a broad range of residents (of all ages, races and ethnic backgrounds) and community associations in the planning, design, implementation, maintenance, and programming of environmental projects, as well as community organizing projects. Although the most visible results of this program are transformed spaces, an equally important aspect is the transformation of people! Participants are learning new skills, developing new relationships, and often become sparks and catalysts for many other improvements in the community.