2007 Grant Cycle

The PSCC awards community grants each year, funded by the annual PSCC House Tour. The Council is delighted to support these local groups, as they reflect the range and variety of active, creative organizations in Park Slope and contribute greatly to the diversity and vitality of our community. These grants are funded by the annual PSCC House Tour, and are awarded for projects at schools, charities, cultural institutions, and other organizations benefiting the Park Slope community. This year, we denied two applications, but granted 19 others, totaling $10,650, including giving our first Community Builder Grant-a relatively new type of grant-that was created to give greater funding to help an innovative project of special merit get off the ground. Congratulations to all!

(1) Our first Community Builder Award was given to: Old First Teen Club: Club Loco (Old First Reformed Church). Old First is one of the oldest churches in Brooklyn, serving the Slope since the 1880’s. They propose to host a teen club as a way of serving their goals of offering outreach, sanctuary, and hospitality to our community. The club (which was named by a committee of local teenagers) will be open to all teens, regardless of denomination, and is to be modeled after others that have been successful elsewhere. Old First has ‘done its homework’ by demonstrating a need for such a venue (i.e., providing dance music and a safe place to hang out), by offering a detailed plan for its operation - including consulting with local officials, local precincts, local schools, and parents, etc. Their request was for furnishings for the club, and they provided a detailed budget with reference material. The Grants Committee (GC) wholeheartedly supported this project and awarded them our first Community Builder grant.

(2) Building a History Library as part of the Military Museum at the Armory (Veterans’ Committee of Kings and Richmond Counties). The 14th Regiment Armory, built in 1895, was closed for military use in 1995 but still houses the Veterans’ Committee, which is trying to maintain a military museum and history library there. We have previously funded the return of statuary, the purchase of manikins to exhibit military uniforms, and the GC agreed to provide some funds to help them with the library.

(3) 9th Street Entranceway Beautification Project (Prospect Park Alliance). The Prospect Park Alliance needs no elaborate introduction. Amongst many other activities, they have worked extensively to restore our park. They asked for funds to spruce up the entranceway to the bandshell on 9th Street, used by a myriad of people who attend the cultural and special events there. The grant is to purchase plants for the flowerbeds there and to replace shrubs near Harmony Playground.

(4) Documenting African American Heroes of the Revolutionary Era (Old Stone House of Brooklyn) The OHS is a historic interpretive center, working to preserve and publicize Brooklyn’s role in the Revolutionary War. They work with local schools and offer public programs and heritage events throughout the year. They have been developing the content for a course on African American heroes and heroines of the Revolutionary war era. Their request was to help them with the purchase of classroom materials to further this effort and to create ties to bind our diverse community together. The GC awarded them their request.

(5) Youthworks – A Touring Project (BAX/ Brooklyn Arts Exchange). Founded in 1991, BAX is an independent not-for-profit community arts organization. They provide year-round performance, rehearsal, and educational venues for varied age groups for dance and theatre. They requested funds for the creation of a touring vehicle to expose their students to a variety of sites and venues. The GC opted to provide funds for some of their costume needs.

(6) Caregiver Stress Management Meditation Workshop at Leeza’s Place (Park Slope Geriatric Day Center, Inc.) PSGDC helps older adults with physical and/or cognitive limitations maintain their levels of functioning in order to avoid premature institutionalization. They recently teamed up with Leeza’s Place – which is specifically dedicated to educating and empowering caregivers and families of those clients. The proposal was to pilot a meditation-based stress-reduction program developed -and successfully used for 20 years- at the University of Massachusetts, and now operating in other cities in the USA. The goal is to make the program workable in Brooklyn, and then share its protocols with others through its website and hand-out publications. The GC were not able to honor their full request for a Community Builder award, but opted to go above the usual limit in order to indicate our strong support.
(7) Spring 2007 Park Slope Computer and Electronics Recycling Day (Recycle This! and Per Scholas)
Per Scholas is a non-profit organization dedicated to recycling, refurbishing, and re-using discarded technological equipment via a vocational training program in the Bronx. They redistribute the rebuilt computers to low income school children, and unusable equipment is recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. Together with Recycle This!, they have conducted five computer and electronics recycling events in the Park Slope area in the past two years. The grant is to offset the costs of a recycling event in the spring (rental of trucks, etc.).

(8) P.S. 107 Facility Improvement Project (P.S. 107 PTA). In an attempt to involve students and their families in the improvement of the school’s physical space and facilities and to increase their pride in the premises, the PTA is inviting students in each grade to participate in weekend workshops to design and paint ceramic tiles to be installed (after glazing and firing) in the bathrooms of the school. The GC felt this was a worthwhile and interesting project, and opted to fund their request.

(9) P.S. 39 Chess Team Program (P.S. 39 PTA). P.S. 39 has, for many years, included chess instruction in its curriculum, maintained an after-school chess club, and has teams that have competed nationally. They have lost their Title One funding and wish to continue these activities –not only because of the benefits that playing chess offers (logic, planning, focus) but also for its contribution to school spirit and pride. The GC opted to help them in this effort.

(10) In a Round About Way –A Musical (The Puppetry Arts Theatre, Inc.). Since 1998, TPAT has offered creative outlets to inner city youth and families through the art of puppetry via workshops and performances. The request was for funds to bring an original musical with open rehearsals at Camp Friendship, for two weekend performances in July at The Old Stone House, ending with a puppet making workshop. Since many of this group’s events are outside the Slope, the GC opted to give them a small grant to pay for some of the puppets.

(11) Frances Residency Programs (CHIPS-Christian Help in Park Slope) CHIPS really does not need an elaborate introduction here. Since 1971, they have served the poor, hungry, and homeless in Park Slope. They have a food pantry, distribute clothing, and operate a shelter for homeless mothers and their children. The agency is operated by volunteers and works collaboratively with local schools and gardens. The Frances Residency Program was opened in 1998 for homeless, pregnant mothers and their infants and toddlers. They need supplies for this facility (e.g., diapers, baby blankets and clothes, etc.). GC opted to give them funds to help defray these expenses.

(12) Greenwood Heights – Then and Now -- A School Project (The Green-Wood Historic Fund).
The Green-Wood Historic Fund is a nonprofit organization created to enhance public awareness of the significance of the Cemetery by sponsoring educational programs and cultural events. They are planning to compose a topographical map of the neighborhood as it looked in 1776, the year of the Battle of Brooklyn, using three 4-th grade classes to gather information from census data. The GC opted to help them with this project, expecting that at least one of the schools would be in the Park Slope area.

(13) Framed Display of Archival Photos (The Gallery Players). The Gallery Players –recipient of an Off-Off Broadway Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 -- marks its 40th season in our community. Dedicated to producing affordable classic and contemporary plays and musicals as well as premiering new works, they wish their audiences to be able to see their history by viewing photos from their very large archive. The request was to help with the cost of framing and mounting of the photos, which will decorate their lobby and hallways leading to the theatre and restrooms. The Brooklyn Historical Society wants to show some of the photos as well. The GC opted to show its support by funding the entire cost of the Project (which is somewhat over the amount they requested.)

(14) Conservatory Community Salon Project Expansion (Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory of Music). The Conservatory, a fixture in our midst since 1897, encourages novice soloists by making their concert hall and an accompanist available for public performances. This provides a venue for support and for constructive feedback for the soloist involved. The series has been expanded from eight to sixteen programs, including eight special workshops and master classes. The GC wished to help them in this endeavor.

(15) Connecting Park Slope with Governor’s Isle (The Gowanus Dredgers Canoe Club). Since 1999, The GDCC has worked to foster the clean-up and use of the Gowanus Canal and encourages an understanding of the NY-NJ Harbor. One of their aims is to connect Park Slope residents with their only shoreline. They have expanded their tours to include Governor’s Island, and are in need of additional radio and safety equipment. The GC opted to help them purchase these.

(16) Fathers’ Involvement Workshops in Family Literacy (Project Reach Youth). Since 1968, PRY has been a resource for young people and their families, offering counseling, guidance, and educational programs. It includes an early childhood component encouraging parents to become full partners in the education of their children. They asked for help with the provision of four Father’s Involvement Workshops – each structure around a theme (the value of play, how children learn to read and write, etc.) The GC granted their request.

(17) The Lab Master-Class Visiting Artists Workshop (Reel Works Teen Filmmaking –YMCA).
Reel Works is a nationally recognized non-profit youth media program and an Emmy-award winning community arts organization that uses filmmaking to teach high school students communication and thinking skills, as well as mastery of digital technology. They offer free after-school workshops with one on one professional mentoring. The request was for funds to help pay honoraria for visiting artists. While it is not our usual policy to pay for honoraria, the GC opted to partially fund their request.

(18) Equipment Room for St. Francis Xavier Youth Sports (SFX Youth Sports). SFX Youth Sports has provided our community and surrounding neighborhoods with non-competitive programs for all children, regardless of denomination, offering scholarships to low-income families who cannot pay any fees. They teach teamwork and sportsmanship using an all-volunteer staff of coaches. They requested funds to help pay for the building of a storage closet for their baseball and soccer equipment. The GC opted to partially fund their request.

(19) MS 51 Drama Program (William Alexander -MS 51). MS 51 is known for its excellent talent programs in drama, chorus, dance, art, and photography. The drama program produces three productions a year, a circus, a playwriting festival, and has won several Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. This year they will also be hosting children from a high school in Scotland. They requested help with these projects, and the GC opted to help them, earmarking the funds for their props and lighting needs.

Respectfully submitted to the Trustees by the Grants Committee, February 8, 2007
Chairperson: Sheila J. White
Committee Members: Nat Allman, Nellie Isaacson, Robert Levine, Eric McClure, Lauri Schindler, Richard White