I’ve always believed that art is vital, arguably the heartbeat of our society. I started dancing at the age of three, studied dance at college, and now work at an arts non-profit and teach dance to kids at night. I chose to live in Jamaica Plain because it’s evident that our neighborhood supports and recognizes the importance of keeping art alive through community events, classes, and artistic demonstrations. There’s so much talent and potential that exists within our city’s youth. However, opportunity doesn’t always meet that talent.
UPDATE: The shoe drive has been extended to December 1. Please donate shoes to a great cause! The Margarita Muniz Academy has asked the community to help with a shoe drive. "We are excited about our shoe drive," said Cecilia Soriano, Director of Development at Margarita Muniz Academy. "We know that most people have extra shoes in their closets they would like to donate to us.
The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC) and a development company want to purchase Stonley Road property to make a project previously approved by the city for 45 rental units. JPNDC and Traggorth Companies filed a notice of small project change with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) to purchase the land and make the project the BPDA already approved in December 2019. Along with being new owners of the property, they would like to make all 45 units income-restricted. The original owners of the property were approved to make the project with 22% of the units deemed affordable housing. There will be a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, Nov.
Sheffield Chamber Players is seeking connections with JP-based nonprofit organizations to expand its mission of “bringing chamber music home." Sheffield was founded in JP in 2014, on the belief that experiencing chamber music in the intimate settings for which it was written profoundly changes the way listeners respond to music, and to each other. In close proximity to musicians, one can hear the expressive subtleties of a performance with unprecedented clarity. Sheffield’s musical experiences are enhanced by giving audiences details about composers’ backgrounds, and stories behind the music. In keeping with this vision, Sheffield Chamber Players has presented live (and recently, virtual) programs in detention centers, hospitals, and schools; and currently seeks to expand virtual and/or in-person performances to more spaces including elder-care facilities, detention centers, transitional housing, and more.
The Hyde Square Task Force has chosen developer Pennrose to sell the Blessed Sacrament Church, which will turn it into affordable housing, community space, and more. A letter signed by HSTF Executive Director Celina Miranda and Board leadership was sent to local stakeholders, elected officials, and community leaders that outlined some of the benefits Pennrose is committed to providing. “We recognize that this is the beginning of a partnership with Pennrose,” said Miranda. “The HSTF Board believes that Pennrose has the highest likelihood of a great outcome for the community and for our organization.”
Pennrose proposed income-restricted housing with at a minimum:
● <30% AMI: 8 units (15%)
● <50% AMI: 8 units (15%)
● <60% AMI: 16 units (30%)
● <120% AMI: 20 units (40%)
Pennrose has also committed to providing community space for 200+ people in which the HSTF would remain the operator of this space for the long term. Pennrose has also committed to outdoor community space in front, converting the baptistery to an open-air performance gazebo, and to respecting the existing outdoor green space to the west of the church, said the letter.
Volunteers of America of Massachusetts (VOAMASS), a Jamaica Plain based nonprofit that creates opportunities for individuals through residential and outpatient behavioral health treatment, re-entry for justice-involved individuals, veteran services, and senior living, recently announced that it has been awarded four grants – totaling nearly $9.2 million – to address behavioral health needs in several eastern Massachusetts communities. The four grants, three funded by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and one funded by The Humana Foundation, will be deployed over five years and are central to VOAMASS’s transition to an integrated service model. Through the new model, VOAMASS plans on breaking down barriers to independence and economic opportunity by providing behavioral health services through a trauma-informed, culturally competent, whole-person care approach. “We will be able to leverage these funds to support those we serve in breaking the cycle of poverty and homelessness and in getting treatment for substance use disorder and mental illness utilizing our new care model that addresses root causes and not symptoms,” said Charles Gagnon, President and CEO of VOAMASS. “We will also be able to extend this model to far more communities and offer a broader range of services that will help clients realize their full potential.”
VOAMASS will prioritize serving high-risk populations, including homeless, chronically unemployed, low-income, and BIPOC communities, veterans, and people re-entering society from incarceration.
Jamaica Plain based nonprofit Ethos is solely devoted to keeping elders at home, and has always created opportunities to bring issues that are relevant to older adults to the forefront of debate among candidates for office and elected officials. With that in mind, Ethos will be hosting two forums, one for Boston City Council's District 6 race and a mayoral forum. Ethos will be hosting its Boston City Council District 6 candidates forum virtually with Kendra Hicks and Mary Tamer on Oct. 13 from 11 am to 12:30 pm. Ethos will be hosting its mayoral candidates forum virtually with At-Large City Councilors Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George on Friday, October 15, from 11:30 am to 1 pm.
The First Baptist Church recently received a $100,000 grant from Mass General Brigham to grow its sit down meals and food deliveries service. When COVID hit, First Baptist could no longer provide meals inside its location, said Rev. Ashlee Wiest-Laird. "We said, let's deliver to them. It was two meals a week, which quickly became three meals," said Wiest-Laird. Soon they were providing three meals a week up to 300 households in Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, Roslindale, Dorchester, Hyde Park, and more.
When Community Servings was founded in 1990, a small group of volunteers delivered 30 hot dinners to nourish people struggling with wasting syndrome associated with HIV/AIDS. Today, more than three decades later, the Jamaica Plain nonprofit organization has cooked up its 10 millionth scratch-made meal as its mission has expanded to serve individuals with a wide range of illnesses. “This milestone is a matter of pride for the 70-plus employees and dozens of daily volunteers whose collective mission is to prepare medically tailored meals in the kitchen of Community Servings and deliver them to people in need across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,” said David B. Waters, CEO of Community Servings. “We can count our progress by the millions now, but what we do really comes down to two words: food heals.”
To celebrate the milestone meal, a result of rapid growth over the last two years, Community Servings welcomed elected officials and community leaders, including U.S. Representative James P. McGovern (MA-2nd), a leading voice on hunger policy and longtime “food as medicine” champion, to its 31,000-square-foot “Food Campus” in Jamaica Plain on Sept. 13.
Run For All, the popular free community celebration, will return to Jamaica Pond and support local nonprofit Community Servings. The Run will be on Sept. 12 at 10 am. Community Servings' CEO David Waters will provide remarks and talk about the organization's mission to provide nourishment, connection and well being to chronically and clinically ill neighbors. The communal nature of the event will culminate in a unified and noncompetitive run/walk around Jamaica Pond.
