Gabrielle Piceno

gabrielle@everyneighborhood.org

Gabrielle was born in Fresno, grew up and went to college in Southern California, and moved back to Fresno in 2014. She has worked with churches and non-profits in Fresno, where she developed an interest in Christian Community Development and what God is doing in Fresno. She has since made Fresno her home alongside her husband Jordan. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Sustaining Physical Activity in the Community During COVID-19

November 19, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Neighborhood Presence

*This report is taken from the PEARS Success Story ID 23330

In partnership with the Fresno County Department of Public Health (FCDPH) and Every Neighborhood Partnership (ENP), the Central Valley Health Policy Institute (CVHPI) has conducted a series of interviews with Latin Dance instructors before the COVID-19 pandemic and shortly after the shelter-in-place mandate was lifted. The initial interviews conducted in 2019 were aimed at understanding how the program has expanded, identifying challenges, and linking the program to resources. There were nine (n=9) Latin Dance instructors who were interviewed and provided input on these topics. Shortly thereafter, the pandemic struck and the opportunity to report findings back to the community was put to a halt. In the month of June 2021, follow-up interviews were conducted with the Latin Dance instructors to assess the current state of the project and how best to move forward. A total of five interviews were conducted with the Latin Dance instructors. On June 30th, 2021, the CVHPI met with the FCDPH, ENP, and the Latin Dance instructors who were interviewed to report back findings and ensure that all ideas were captured. The following is a summary of both findings from all interviews as well as topics that came forward during fruitful discussions with the Latin Dance instructors.

Now Hiring: Read Fresno Mentors

June 9, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Jobs

Searching to make a difference this year? Read Fresno with ENP works to raise the reading and academic abilities of local elementary school students each year. Read Fresno is now recruiting qualified students for the 2021-22 academic year to serve as mentors. If you qualify, you could earn up to $15.00 per hour. Mentors work approximately 10-15 hours per week, based on work-study eligibility. In order to qualify for one of these openings, you must:

Be eligible for Financial Aid Work Study funds (the Financial Aid Office has already indicated to us if you are eligible!).
Have excellent oral and written English language skills.
Be interested in working with elementary-aged children.

New applicants to the program: Read Fresno Mentor Applications-NEW

Returning applicants to the program: Read Fresno Mentor Application-RETURNER

Priority applications will be accepted online until Friday, June 25. Applicants selected to move forward will be contacted for a one-on-one interview via Zoom between Monday, June 28-Friday, July 16.

Summer Resources for Kids

May 19, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Partnership Spotlight

As summer approaches, we wanted to share free and low-cost summer resources and activities for kids from some of our partners.

Reading and Learning

ENP Literacy Mentoring

Trained and equipped Literacy Mentors meet one-on-one virtually with K-3rd grade students to help them with their foundational reading skills and sight words. Sign up using one of the links below:

FUSD School Libraries

School Libraries will be open to the public at all summer school locations. Find summer school sites HERE.

Sora App

Students in Fresno Unified School District can use the Sora App for online reading access

Fresno County Library

The Fresno County Library has free summer reading programs and activities for kids, teens, and adults. Click HERE for more information and a calendar of events.

Take a Book, Leave a Book

Find a Book Bin or Little Free Library near you and exchange a book!

12 Free Learning Apps and Websites for Summer

High-quality digital tools for kids that are both educational and entertaining.

Free At-Home Learning Library

Share Wide Open School in English or Spanish with families to help them find activities.

Online Learning Sites

Really Great Reading’s Heart Word Magic – complimentary teaching tool designed to help students learn to read and spell high-frequency words, particularly those that aren’t very decodable. Show your students the animations, then try their fun, hands-on free Student Practice Activities
Heidi Songs – sight word songs
Education.com – sight word games
ABCya – sight word games and more
Starfall – books and games by grade level, Kinder-3rd grade
ENP Read-Alouds – books read by Literacy Mentors
Flocabulary– create a “Free Trial” and get access to many reading lessons that include videos and pdfs
Valley PBS – watch local Fresno Unified teachers share ideas or watch the videos live with your student
Common Sense Media – Fun Summer Reading Challenges
Online Books – see our Literacy Mentor newsletter for links to many different sites that have free resources
Arbolabc.com – Español

Activities

Camp Fresno

Starting the week of June 15^th, the City of Fresno will be offering Free 3-day overnight camps. While they hope to open camp to current youth leaders, they are particularly interested in also opening to the most vulnerable. They are most eager to provide the opportunity to teens who perhaps would never have had a chance to experience an outdoor camp; or perhaps those who have made some bad choices in life and an outdoor experience like this might impact their lives positively. Complete the interest form below:

English Interest Form

Spanish Interest Form

City of Fresno Parks and Recreation (PARCS)

Fresno PARCS offers a variety of activities for kids. Some of these activities have a cost associated with them. To learn more and register, visit their website.

Activities include Youth Sports and Virtual Programs.

You can also visit their Facebook page for upcoming events and activities.

Martin Park VBS

Martin Park is hosting 7 weeks of VBS CAMP to reach kids with the Gospel!

They have partnered with Child Evangelism Fellowship, First Presbyterian, River Park Bible Church, Children’s Champion and The Well to facilitate a VBS CAMP for one week at a time.

VBS Camp will run from June 14th-July 30th on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, from 3pm-5pm. Dinner will be provided each night at 4:30 for children and volunteers!

On the 3rd week (June 28-July 2) they will take kids to VBS at River Park Bible Church.

On the 6th week (July 12-16) they will take kids to City Bible Adventure at First Presbyterian Church.

Each day the kids will participate in singing, lessons, craft and games.

Call 559-554-4319 to sign up!

Additional Websites

Activity Hero – Search this website for upcoming events for kids in Fresno
Fresno Summer Camps – List of summer camps in Fresno, costs associated with these camps

Food

Fresno County Food Map

Search fresnocountyfood.org for free food near you.

Food Bank

Central California Food Bank is here to help you get access to the food you need. To find a food distribution near you, utilize the daily calendar, enroll in CalFresh, or sign-up for a pick-up.

Food Locator – Find food distribution partners near you.
Food Distribution Calendar – Find Neighborhood Markets, Mobile Pantries, and USDA Commodities partners by date.
Groceries 2 Go – Schedule a pick-up appointment at our Groceries 2 Go location Monday – Friday (7am-4pm) or at one of our satellite locations near you (hours vary by location).
CalFresh – Their team can help you enroll in CalFresh.

Other

Webinar

Consider hosting a Summer Learning Program! Hear tips and plans from our partners by watching the webinar recording HERE.

Congrats Grads!

May 13, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Partnership Spotlight

College students have been a big part of our work for many years. Through serving with ENP, they are able to give back to our community, gain valuable experience, and put their studies into practice. Win all around! This year we especially relied on college students as they had the capacity and knowledge to support our online programming!

Huge applause to each one of these seniors who is graduating from Fresno State this weekend!

Here are some quotes from graduating seniors on what they learned from their exerience with ENP as a whole.

“I learned that students really enjoyed having someone to talk with and they cherished that 30 minutes. They looked forward to those days even if they didn’t always want to do their sight words…This really showed a resilience in the students and I actually got to learn from them not just them learning from me. This whole experience during a pandemic really put into perspective the importance of literacy mentors and the important work that ENP does by giving volunteers an opportunity to make a difference and see a difference in the students they work with.” – Angelica Torres

“I learned to take leadership in my mentoring skills and support students who need help on academia.” – Chong Hang

“I am learning how to communicate with younger kids and how to create curriculum that best supports their needs. I am also learning how to be comfortable with communicating with parents. I think this is really valuable for me because it prepares me to work with kids in my future profession!” – Gwyneth Quitorio

“As a whole through my experience I learned that for my future career I want to work with kids. I learned how to be patient with students and how to adjust to their learning to get them to being more engaged.” – Cyenna Garrett

Literacy Mentors

Angela Barrera
Angelica Torres
Ashley Moreno
Devin Arguelles
Gao Joua Moua
Gwyneth Quitorio
Isamara Lopez
Kiera White
Milca Gutierrez
Ryan Rendahl

Scholars in Service – Literacy Mentor

Cyenna Garrett

Child and Family Science – Literacy Mentor

Leslie Hernandez
Madison Herron

Read Fresno Mentors

Alejandra Lopez
Andrea Rivera Maranon
Chong Hang
Coraima Godinez
Stephanie Gonzales

Recreation Intern

Matthew De Leon

Health/Fitness Support

Alex Valdez
Kathryn Orozco

Digital Literacy Aide:

Michelle Pinal

“It has been one of the most impactful and rewarding experiences of my life. Through this opportunity
of teaching, I ended up learning a lot myself. This opportunity opened my eyes to a greater need
in my community and now more than ever I want to dedicate my time and efforts to make as
many positive impacts in my community as I can.” – Ashley Moreno

ENP is Hiring an AmeriCorps VIP member!

May 4, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Jobs

ENP is partnering with AmeriCorps VIP to hire a full-time, one-year temporary Literacy Mentor Coordinator.

The Literacy Mentor Coordinator will work with volunteers and support the Literacy Mentor Director and Read Fresno Coordinator.

For more information and instructions for applying, read the Literacy Mentor Coordinator Job Description AND the AmeriCorps VIP Member Position Description.

Home Remedies and Community Health

April 2, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Serving Our Neighborhoods

ENP Promotoras, or Community Health Workers, have been hosting a weekly Women’s Support Group. In putting together the topics for the groups, they ask the attendees what they would like to hear about. One of the topics the women have asked for is “home remedies.” Johanna, one of the Promotoras, shared resources of traditional home remedies with which she was familiar.

Alfabetización Digital

March 10, 2021 Gabrielle Piceno Parent Engagement, Serving Our Neighborhoods

Mondays and Wednesdays from February 8 – March 4 ENP staff members Suzzy Pinal and Angie Conde led ENP’s first Spanish digital literacy class. COVID-19 has highlighted the need for basic training in computers and technology, especially among our Spanish-speaking neighbors. For 4 weeks, 12-30 students met over zoom to learn basic computer skills. The excitement as new skills were learned was palpable and the instructors enjoyed watching the students’ eyes light up as they understood new things.

All of the participants said they would recommend the course to a friend and many are eager to re-take the course to become more comfortable with their device. Some participants even bought a computer after going through the session, feeling more comfortable in their ability to navigate it. Below is some of the feedback from the post-course survey.

Give a Gift – Receive an ENP Mug

December 18, 2020 Gabrielle Piceno ENP News

As we head into the final week before Christmas, we wanted to let you know of a special end of year donor special! Every gift of $25 or more from now until the end of the year will receive a special and limited time only ENP mug. Enjoy that coffee or tea in style!!!

Every additional donation of $25 or more will receive a limited edition ENP mug and together sticker!

COVID-Safe Volunteer Projects

December 2, 2020 Gabrielle Piceno Serving Our Neighborhoods

COVID-19 has changed many things, but we can still encourage, serve, and appreciate those around us. Below are some physically distanced volunteer ideas from loveourcities.org.

Refunctioning Community Development

July 21, 2020 Gabrielle Piceno Perspectives

This article was written by former ENP intern Alexis Kalugin.

Over the last few decades, institutional community development has taken over the structure of most community functions. Instead of finding ways to engage neighbors to be a voice of change in their community, most cities have put the burden of change on institutions. The problem with this narrative is that workers in schools, law enforcement, and healthcare are responsible for more community problems than they can handle. There is no relationship between the institution and the community to understand each problem. This approach becomes one size fits all and leaves a gap between the institution and the citizens.