Neighborhood Opportunity Network

El Rosal Sewing co-op blossoms (and begins making money too!)

sebastianbrown — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:37:35 +0000

After a year of being together, El Rosal (rose bush) is now stronger than ever and looking toward the future. What started out as an unemployed women’s mutual support circle quickly expanded to offering themselves and other women like them introductory sewing courses. After several months of offering these drop in classes–made possible by Belen Bryant of the Carroll Ave YMCA Community Center who lent us meeting space–the core group had served nearly 40 women in the neighborhood for whom the weekly class was a much needed refuge from the daily isolation of their lonely apartments.

However, with constant turnover of participants, it was difficult to know if they were really making progress toward their goal of honing their craft of sewing to the point that it could serve as a source of income. Especially when crisis hit several of the core members of the group, they felt added pressure to quickly prove the practical value of their new found hobby. In addition, the original teacher was so bogged down with her work at a sewing studio that her schedule rarely allowed her to join the group. So, somewhat frustrated with how much energy they had put in and how little they had to show for it, they took a much deserved break over the summer.

Edelsa

Alicia

Yolanda

Victoria

Maria

But, all having kids at the same school and living within blocks of each other, they couldn’t help but stay in close communication. They continued to baby sit each other’s kids, see each other at weekly school-sponsored parent coffees and occasionally run into each other at IMPACT events for which they were paid to cater the meal or watch the participants’ kids. And then Chris Lancette and Won-ok Kim of Orion’s Attic founded the Flower Avenue Holiday Market in mid November and everything started to change…

Chris Lancette hugs Yolanda after delivering HUGE DONATION of 20 boxes/$2200 worth of sewing supplies salvaged from a house cleaning

Two of the members of the original sewing circle first got involved with the weekly market selling Mary Kay products they had lying around their house. After not making any sales the first two weeks, they got in touch with a man–with years of experience as a tailor–they met at an IMPACT Neighbors Exchange who had offered to instruct them on making house hold items. With the County bag tax around the corner, we agreed re-usable bags would be the perfect product to begin with. With his help, they made one in the basement of the Cyber Web Latino–their de facto workshop–and on a whim laid it on their table the following Saturday at the market. When two people saw the bags and liked them and what the group was doing so much that they ordered 8 more, the women knew they were on to something.

Yolanda and Alicia and Darwin and I at Flower Market

They spent the next week pumping out eight more bags, which they brought to the market and were asked to make 10 more. Knowing they needed additional and more experienced hands on machines if they were to meet the demand, they invited back their original teacher to save the day–who had only weeks before quit her seamstress gig where hours were too long. Over the holidays they spent nearly 8 hours every day in their basement workshop experimenting making different bag designs and improving/organizing the space. They invited one additional neighbor and long time friend who had professional experience sewing in El Salvador and just like that, they were 5! The five women of El Rosal taking Long Branch and Silver Spring by storm!

The women now spend most of their time together in the basement work shop–which they are now paying $500 monthly to the owner of the Cyber Cafe. The other day LEDC even visited the ladies at the work shop to offer a three hour course on how to best strengthen and grow their micro-business.

Lourdes and Emily from LEDC discuss next steps for El Rosal with the ladies

The women are meeting weekly to plan for the upcoming week and divvy up any earnings from the previous week. They even made one loan of $525 to one member who’s husbands’ pay check had been delayed by a week and therefore she was left with no money to pay rent. Just as she said she would (and signed in a hand written agreement with the group), she paid the entire loan back within 10 days. The micro loan was just enough to allow her to avoid paying steep late charges on her rent that she might not have been able to afford.

Edelsa and Alicia presenting Ike his very own bag!

While mostly hard at work in the shop, on occasion they find time to hit the town with their product. Most notably, they showed up in force to Ike’s down-county budget hearing and presented him his very own reusable bag so that he could avoid paying the bag tax that he himself helped get passed.

They are currently looking forward to holding an open house launch party February 18 and then offering night courses the following week. They are always willing to meet and have you custom design your own bag or clothes or drop off an alteration project. Their prices are more than reasonable, their product is as local as you get, and their determination is greater than ever. Join the movement. Go Green. Go Local. GO LONG BRANCH!!!

Check out some of their products and call me at 814-506-4543 if interested in purchasing or with any questions about services offered.

A small, medium and large set--$30

Large grocery bag--$15

Plastic bag holder to hang in kitchen--$5

Blender covers!--$10

Girl's summer dress--$25

Tuesday’s togethers now has a job club!!!!!

nathalieglc — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:35:55 +0000

Experience the wealth of diversity makes us strong. People from the Bronx New York, Peru, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, Ecuador, Guatemala, Washington DC, El Salvador, Japan, Mexico, Isla San Francisco, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and more. We are all driven by the desire to make dreams come true.

<——–Tuesdays Together Job Club

On Tuesday January 24 mutual support became as a practical effort to help others and others to find new tools, useful in the job search. In a combined effort of Impact Silver Spring, Catholic Charities and the Department of Health and Human Resources Montgomery County.

we must continue working together to create a better community, prepared to know their rights and duties.
Our English classes are another resource we offer totally free and we know a tool that is widely used in daily life.

Tuesdays Together Job Club

katieschmahl — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:07:33 +0000

Vivir la riqueza de la diversidad, nos hace fuertes. Personas procedentes del Bronx Nueva York, Perú, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Nicaragua, Trinidad y Tobago, Ecuador, Guatemala, Washington DC, El Salvador, Japón, Mexico, Isla San Francisco, Bárbados, Puerto Rico, República Dominicana y más. A todos nos mueve el deseo de hacer realidad los sueños.

Tuesdays Together Job Club

El Martes 24 de Enero la ayuda mutua se convirtió en un esfuerzo práctico de como ayudar a otros y otras a encontrar nuevas herramientas, útiles en la búsqueda de trabajo. En un esfuerzo combinado de Impact Silver Spring, Catholic Charities y el Departamento de Salud y Recursos Humanos del Condado de Montgomery County.

“El único sueño que no se alcanza es por el que no se lucha”

Tuesdays together!! we are all the fruit of one tree and the leaves of one branch.”

nathalieglc — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:51:03 +0000

we are all the fruit of one tree and the leaves of one branch.”

In our increasingly diverse and interdependent world, one of the greatest challenges is finding ways that people of different races, cultures, faiths and points of view can work together on common concerns. Unless we improve our ability to bridge differences, we may not be able to find adequate, workable solutions to the problems that threaten our future.

one thing we learned this Tuesday’s together!!
we are leaves of one branch, a community that work together is a strong and capable to archive any goal, the power of human connection is very important no matter the race, culture ,country,religion, and sex, even the language is not a obstacle to stop a community that work together for the same goal.
as Debra always says ” we are a family, no matter how hard the situation is, we are not going to let that situation break our spirit”.

people in Tuesday’s together come always to charge batteries, for words of motivation, learn something new , searching for HOPE!!! to start every day all over again, we can do it!!!
and if this week it wasn’t your week, try again maybe the next one is yours, but you have to believe!!

Neighbors Exchange Dec 09,2011

katieschmahl — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:54:02 +0000

Neigbors Exchange Dec 09/2011

The meeting that took place on December 9 of this year in the TESS Center facility was of great importance to the residents of the area. At the meeting, Community Connectors from the Department of Health and Human Services shared valuable information.

The main issue addressed at the Neighbors Exchange was access to food resources. Connectors and residents discussed food stamps (how to qualify for this program and what requirements are necessary). They also addressed the issue of other emergency food programs such as Manna Food and others that are very close to Long Branch and accessible to anyone with the need for food.

The main objective of these meetings is to increase awareness of resources and provide space for neighbors to connect with each other. Residents who make new connections and friends can communicate and transmit information to others who might be unaware of these county programs that are very useful tools in these difficult times.

español.

El encuentro de vecinos que se llevo a cabo el día 09 de Diciembre del presente año en la instalaciones del Centro TESS, fue de mucha importancia para los vecinos del área, ya que se compartió información muy valiosa que fue proporcionada por las conectoras del condado de Montgomery.

El tema principal que se abordo en el intercambio de vecinos fue el de Estampillas de comida ( stamp food) como calificar para este programa ? y que requisitos son necesarios. También se abordo el tema de otros programas de emergencia de alimentos como Manna Food y otros que están muy cerca de Long Branch accesibles a cualquier persona que tenga la necesidad de alimentos.

El objetivo principal de estos intercambios de vecinos, es que se conozcan, que se hagan amigos que se comuniquen y que transmitan la información que se les proporciona a otros que probablemente desconozcan de estos programas del condado que son herramientas muy útiles en estos tiempos difíciles.

Children enjoying the Neighbors Exchange.

Los niños disfrutando del intercambio de vecinos!!!

Tuesdays Together Christmas party!!!!

nathalieglc — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:51:34 +0000

Christmas time to share and celebrate the joy of being together,that’s what we celebrate this Tuesday!!

we met as usual at Catholic Charities, we enjoyed the food and the company of all the community, everybody dance and thanks to all our coworkers that help the community every tuesday, for example to Rosa Pichado, Linda the montgomery county conflic resolution, Cindy, Faith, Stefanny from catholic charities, Norma, Debra,Rosa from Holly Cross Hospital, Marcia and jeniffer from english class.

Maria , Rosa, Janice the montgomery county human reseach, Roxana our babysitting, Marcos for interpretation, Noelle and Carmen from impact and all those anonymous people who always support us and make Tuesdays Together a place where the community can feel like family and found help when they need it most.

Neighbors Exchange Event !

katieschmahl — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:06:39 +0000

Hello everyone !

My name is Carlos Iglesias and I have been a part of the Impact Silver Spring Team for about a month. October 26th of this year was my first experience in a neighbors exchange in the Long Branch community. I was very happy to meet new people of different nationalities and different backgrounds, but all focused on one thing in common: improving our neighborhood! Moreover county institutions and nonprofit organizations that were present at the neighbors exchange to present their programs to assist community have a very vital roll in the process of creating successful communities. They give hope and help the communities with services that are necessary for their development.

Thanks to all who participated in this neighbor exchange , I think that the big changes we need in our communities will come but is very important that we are organized and share our concerns and aspirations.

For us every neighbor and every organization within our communities is very important to implement a better quality of life.

New! Click the words above to view alternate translations. Dismiss

Hola a todos !

Soy Carlos Iglesias, y tengo aproximadamente un mes de formar parte del equipo de Impact Silver Spring; el día 26 de Octubre de este año fue mi primer experiencia en un Intercambio entre vecinos en la comunidad de Long Branch, me sentí muy feliz de conocer gente nueva de diferentes nacionalidades y con diferentes vocaciones pero todos enfocados en algo en común: ! mejorar nuestro vecindario ! . Por otra parte las instituciones del condado y organismos sin fines de lucro que se hicieron presentes al Intercambio de vecinos para presentar sus programas de asistencia a la comunidad juegan un roll sumamente vital en todo este proceso de crear comunidades de éxito, ellos dan esperanza a las comunidades y mas que eso proveen servicios que son sumamente necesarios para el desarrollo de las mismas.

Gracias a todos los que participaron de este intercambio de vecinos, creo que los grandes cambios que necesitamos en nuestras comunidades vendrán, lo importante es que estemos organizados y compartamos nuestras inquietudes y aspiraciones.

Para nosotros cada vecino y cada organización dentro de nuestras comunidades es muy importante para implementar una mejor calidad de vida.

Door knocking in Long Branch!

Neighborhood Opportunity Network — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 17:03:17 +0000

Carlos' first door knocking group!

: Toque de puertas en Long Branch

Saturday 22 and Monday 24 October were very special days; we had a great doorknock in some Long Branch apartments called Piney Ridge and Good acre. We knocked on about 300 doors and got to know our neighbors and our community first hand. It was a very rewarding experience because we shared important information about opportunities that we can have in the Long Branch area. Many of the people we visited showed great interest and shared with us some great ideas and challenges that exist within our communities. The team of volunteers involved was excellent and learned a lot from this wonderful experience.
If you are interested in volunteering and getting to know the community in the Long Branch area contact Carlos on the phone: 301.495.3336

El Sabado 22 y el Lunes 24 de Octubre fueron días muy especiales, ya que realizamos un gran toque de puertas en Long Branch especificamente en los apartamentos de Piney Ridge y GoodAcre, tocamos aproximadamente 300 puertas y conocimos de primera mano a nuestros vecinos, nuestra comunidad. Fue una experiencia muy gratificante porque compartimos informacion muy importante hacerca de la Red de Oportunidades que podemos encontrar en el area de Long Branch: al mismo tiempo muchos de las personas que visitamos, mostraron gran interes y compartieron con algunos de nosotros grandes ideas y desafios que existen dentro de nuestras comunidades. El equivo de voluntarios que participo fue excelente y aprendieron muchisimo de esta bonita experiencia.
Si estas interesado en ser voluntario y llevar buenas nuevas a las comunidades del area de Long Branch, comunicate con Carlos al telefono: 301.495.3336

Long Branch Academy Fall Membership Night!

sebastianbrown — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 20:20:31 +0000

Folks waiting for food!

Last night we had our first of what we expect to be come a monthly Academy membership night. About 80 families came out for a night of board games, home-cooked food brought by the families themselves, family photos for an academy directory and deeper relationship building with fellow members of the academy.

5th grade parents connect over food

For a half hour or so folks arrived to the Broad Acres cafeteria and dropped off any food they brought for the group. Mairelin, using a megaphone, welcomed the group and explained the flow for the night. Then she began calling up teams one by one to get food–while waiting families sat at tables according to team and began playing board games as well as informally chatting about issues that have come up concerning the team. Once a team had eaten their food they then lined up in the gymnasium to take individual and team pictures that we hope will eventually make their way into an academy directory.

TACOS!

Board games

As folks waited to have their picture taken by volunteer Dre–Americorps member working at the Silver Spring Regional Center–Chris had families write on several message boards asking for feedback around the academy as well what needs folks have beyond soccer. Nearly a dozen parents expressed the need for improved communication between parents on the teams. Because of this, coordinators for the teams huddled last night and agreed we should have another parents’ planning meeting in the next couple weeks to check in around team organization and resolve any issues that have arisen.

Dre taking family photos

Parent writes about how he thinks the academy could improve through better communciation between parents

While the IMPACT team took the lead in organizing this first academy night, families are excited to really own the one planned for next month. Some ideas they’ve already tossed around are a dance and a parents’ tournament. Last night was mostly social, with little real intentionality to connect folks to outside resources or even to each other except as it related to their teams. These next few weeks will be huge as we work with parents to determine what our plan for the winter will be as well as figure out how best to connect academy parents to the larger Long Branch network as it makes sense.

A dad helps clean up at end of night!

Long Branch Academy players on the big stage!

sebastianbrown — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:48:00 +0000

3rd grade Montgomery Knolls boys coach Rogelio looking on

Last night 25 Academy players and their families made their way over to Springbrook Highschool to provide the half time entertainment! For ten minutes, while the Springbrook and Blair were recovering from the first half, the Academy members–mostly third graders from the Academy’s two third grade teams (one of Montgomery Knolls students and one Broad Acres) took over the field, playing under the lights like they owned the place. The teams were roughly divided between the Montgomery Knolls kids–on their way to Blair–and Broad Acres kids–on their way to Springbrook. It was a hard fought match but the Montgomery Knolls youngsters pulled off a 1-0 upset. Thanks to Springbrook’s Athletics Director for helping us pull off the first of what we hope to many collaborative efforts with area high school sports programs.

A Long Branch rivalry of all rivalries!