CareerWise New York Update
“CWNY is fully underway with their second cohort of apprentices comprising a total of 90 students from all over NYC. Accenture, JPMorgan Chase, Google, and Amazon, are among just some of the leading industry giants who welcomed another year of young people into their virtual ranks. Both the young people and their supervisors underwent an extensive seven-week bootcamp this summer to help acclimate themselves to their new roles as they begin their apprenticeship journey together, with a particular focus on navigating the challenges of remote learning and working. We can’t wait to hear more about their progress after being so fully engaged in such a robust and rigorous summer of learning, exploration, and camaraderie.”
– Barbara Chang, Executive Director, CareerWise New York
The Thinkubator
“The Thinkubator Team is busy building on the success of their summer program, which culminated in The Thinkubator Solves Solution Day, co-hosted by HERE to HERE and DreamYard on Wednesday, August 5th. During the event, student innovators presented their recommendations on School Design, School Safety Alternatives, and Restaurant Success in the Age of COVID-19. The Thinkubator Trains (our virtual internship program) also concluded with The Bronx Borough President’s Office and RAP4BRONX, marked by a site visit for participating students to La Fonda Del Sur, a community garden focusing on Urban Farming techniques. The site visit highlighted a lot of the work the students did as interns for RAP4Bx food relief program during the summer, serving the entire Bronx community. Here is a video of student intern, Naomi, describing her work experience on BronxNet.
Since the transition, our team has also been hard at work building out our new Board of Directors, preparing for the next cohort of Thinkubator Solves, and launching a Youth Council that will elevate the voices of Bronx youth.”
Bronx Community Relief Effort
The intent of The Bronx Community Relief Effort (BxCRE) was to provide a proof of concept for why a well-funded, community-empowered Bronx Community Foundation is an essential community asset. Thanks to the leadership of Derrick and Desmon Lewis, a growing number of supporters are working to ensure a Bronx Community Foundation has staying power. As a result, the donor-advised fund that we established for the BxCRE will be winding down in the next month or so, after raising and disbursing nearly $5 million.
Desmon Lewis co-wrote with Wes Caines from The Bronx Defenders a great piece in City Limits, Disinvestment Deepens the Impact of COVID-19 and Racism in the Bronx.