Sustainability Center
- Since our very first meetings in Spring of 2008, there was clear consensus among members on one objective: locate and staff a Regional Sustainability Center. We recognized that finances and capacity would slow this process, so we established a more modest goal of locating and staffing a dedicated office space in order to more effectively advance our mission.
- For the last six months, members of BRSC have been working in a wide collaboration of community partners to convert a vacant church in downtown Binghamton (see map) into a Neighborhood Community Center. As a key partner in the collaboration, BRSC has pledged to assist with staffing needs and develop programmatic activities aligned with our mission in exchange for dedicated office space. The prospects are very promising.
- Below is a brief excerpt from the group’s proposal to the church board, which was presented in February and very well received. Currently, our partners at the Binghamton Housing Authority are negotiating a lease to bring this proposal to fruition, and our goal is to have the Center opened by October 2009.
- EXCERPT:
- “…The work of Elder Moses Cunningham and Mother Sarah Lucille Cunningham was inspirational. Their actions assisted those in distress, provided hope for those suffering, promoted wellness, and empowered and transformed individuals. Because of their tireless leadership, and with the help of many church volunteers, center city residents had come to see the Church of God and Saints of Christ as a “beacon of light,” a source of compassion, healing and well-being. Programs that advanced the church leaders’ key principles were implemented successfully for more than twenty years, and thousands of Binghamton lives were touched and improved. It is a legacy fondly remembered by many Center City residents, a legacy carried forth by many who, even today, continue in small ways to strengthen true fellowship in our community.
- “But since the closing of the Church of God and Saints of Christ at 168 Susquehanna Street, it is also a legacy that has gone quiet, and it is the wish of many in this community to reawaken and perpetuate this legacy for the betterment of the center city residents.
- “To this end, a number of community organizations and leaders have formed a partnership to establish a Community Center with a focus on improving the scope of—and residents’ knowledge of and access to—healthy activities in Binghamton’s Center City Neighborhood. In keeping with the initiatives of the Church, it is our vision to assist the community through difficult times by providing a holistic approach to rebuild, restore and empower. It is our vision that the Church should be revitalized and designated as a neighborhood community center where residents will have multi-faceted use of the center including neighborhood meetings, career development, health/wellness and nutrition workshops, and arts and sports programming…”
- Read the complete proposal: Binghamton: Reawakening the Legacy
- Collaboration Partners (in alphabetical order)
- -Binghamton Housing Authority
- -Binghamton Neighborhood Assemblies Project
- -Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition
- -Binghamton Youth Bureau
- -Broome County Gang Prevention
- -Broome County Urban League
- -Broome-Tioga Workforce New York
- -Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County
- -Council member Lea Webb (District-4)
- -Planned Parenthood
- -YMCA
- -YWCA
- We gave examples of two potential programs in the proposal, both which connect to BRSC’s mission:
- Pathways out of Poverty: Workforce Training and Financial Literacy.
- “…For example, in addition to their normal programs, Broome Tioga Workforce Training of New York is aggressively pursuing a range of grants that will offer training in the emerging job sectors of the “green collar economy.” There is a strong consensus among our partners that underserved and disenfranchised populations need to share in the prosperity of this emerging new economy. By partnering with the Community Center, Broome Tioga Workforce New York is making sure residents in the center city have knowledge of and access to pathways out of poverty that will empower and transform lives.”
- Connecting the Dots: The Growing Connections Program.
- “…Two community gardens have been established in the center city neighborhood, a development that has involved the Binghamton School District, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and the City of Binghamton. Furthermore, the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition has members—some active farmers—that would like to assist with workshops and classes on food processing, composting, and health/nutrition. Adding these components to the youth summer program, and opening it to the families in the neighborhood, would round out a very successful initiative, in which many current but disparate activities are fully connected: building fellowship via the community gardens, cultivating intergenerational relations, educating families on food and health issues, teaching marketing and enterprise skills to youth, increasing the volume of the harvest and diverting some fresh food for community meals in the center or to neighborhood pantry; and ultimately increasing the interest in community gardens to turn more of the vacant, abandoned lots into spaces of renewal and empowerment."
- Updates about the progress of this initiative will be posted here as well as be mentioned in our monthly meeting minutes. Once we finalize lease details, we will start recruiting volunteers to help with basic maintenance of the facility (painting, drywalling, etc), looking for donations of office furniture, preparing for volunteer staffing needs, and developing BRSC-oriented programming.
- If you want to receive email updates about this effort, or want to be more involved, please contact Tarik Abdelazim at modocpress [at] yahoo.com.