Ongoing Work and Updates
Welcome ENP Friends,
During the recent season of Thanksgiving our ENP staff was reflecting on our gratefulness for the work we get to do. Every week we see the power of being present in the life of our neighborhoods, connecting schools, churches, families and volunteers together. We know you feel the same way. We are grateful for all the work do and for the support!
- You are enabling us to give kids emotional and educational support during this COVID season.
- You are helping support churches‘ creative ways of loving their neighbors by feeding them or by hosting Neighborhood Hubs where kids can get internet access and adult support. (We have helped support 5 of them!)
- You are helping our residents get the digital literacy, health, and resource support they need.
- You are helping ENP be a part of transformative programs and policy shifts in Fresno.
As we come into the last month of the year we wanted to update you on all that is going on and share some resources that have been shared with us.
We would appreciate any gift you could give as we come into our final month. Give online today!
If I can help you or connect with you please let me know!
Executive Director
Every Neighborhood Partnership
Featured News
Neighborhood Hub Spotlight
Shared by Pastor Jason Spencer
Image Church now has a Neighborhood Learning hub. This hub is located in our church facility for all families in the Columbia/Lincoln areas to join us. We provide a safe social distanced learning environment for all ages. We are following all safety measures for COVID-19, and making sure we are well staffed for the number of children in the facility. We provide WiFi, breakfast, lunch, activities, and more! At this hub, students can get away from distractions at home and really focus on school.
Our church began this necessary work because we noticed how difficult it can be for families in our area that don’t have great WiFi connection, who have more than one child in different grades, and who have working parents who are unable to help them with school work until after 5pm. We noticed multiple difficulties for the families and decided we want to help. By providing this space for the kids in our neighborhood, they can get the help they need, meals they might’ve missed, and the opportunity to make some friends and have kid to kid interaction since this school year has been so different. We’ve heard countless times how difficult this new learning method is and hosting these hubs allows for us to bring the smiles back to our kids’ faces while giving the parents a much-needed break. It takes a village to raise a child and we as the church are that village! By making sure that our children get the education they deserve and in an environment where they can be successful, we are equipping the next generation for greatness and we want to see our West Fresno family succeed!
Planting Trees and Cleaning Parks
ENP joined the City of Fresno’s Public Works Landscape Division, the Strategic Growth Council, Tree Fresno, and Keep Fresno “BOO-tiful” to host a day of Halloween-themed, family-friendly tree planting and clean-up event in Southwest Fresno.
Families had the opportunity to not only learn about trees but they got their hands dirty. Thank you to all the volunteers who made this event a success!
Watch the video here!
Goodie Bags for Schools
In partnership with numerous churches, resident groups, and college students, ENP helped coordinate goodie bags for our partnership school staff. From experience, we know that this is a stressful time for many educators. We packed and delivered over 1,200 goodie bags which included pastries, snacks and drinks. If you want to donate to this effort, feel free to do that here.
Jobs Jobs Jobs!
Looking to find a job working for a great CBO (non-profit) or church? ENP is keeping our blog updated with job openings shared with us. There are over 10 on this page right now!
If you have a job you want to share, email gabrielle@everyneighborhood.org.
COVID-Safe Volunteer Projects – Every Neighborhood…
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. Provide Encouragement Write thank you cards for public servants (EMT, …
Read more
everyneighborhood.org
Neighborhood Development
DRIVE Initiative
ENP believes that place matters! We are entering a new season of supporting resident-led work to improve Fresno’s neighborhoods. Research and experience show that families do better when they live in strong and supportive communities. We are excited to announce that under the DRIVE Initiative ENP has been selected to serve as one of the two high capacity “intermediaries” that will each provide direct support to three operationalized CBO “Hubs” in the Jackson/Winchell, Webster, and King/Lincoln neighborhoods!
Work is underway to identify and select neighborhood hubs to address the chronic challenges and lack of civic infrastructure in those under-resourced communities. We will do this by being place-based, resident-driven, and asset-based. Stay tuned for more updates!
You can learn more about the DRIVE Initiative from this article published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review which features ENP.
California Avenue Neighborhood Cohort
As we enter into our 8th month since shelter in place began, we are seeing at a deeper level in the need for connection to one another. Because of this, ENP has been part of creating spaces, via digital platforms, for neighbors near and far to stay and feel connected.
One of those gathering spaces, albeit via Zoom, is known as the California Avenue Neighborhood Project (CAN). This project is unique in that it is being co-organized alongside the Fresno Housing Authority (FHA). A little over a year ago, the FHA invited ENP to come alongside them to assist with establishing a strong relationship with residents in Southwest Fresno. Making new friends in aspiration of long term relationships that will result in long-term positive change in the community – absolutely! Twice a month ENP along with the FHA brings together residents from Southwest Fresno that are dedicated to leadership development and working towards long term positive change in their community. A win-win for ENP and FHA! The CAN long-term vision is to develop a vacant property, across the street from Edison High School by first asking residents who will be most impacted by this development what more than housing can be built to benefit the community for generations to come.
Neighborhood Fitness
Neighborhood Fitness had our first outdoor dance class in mid-October. The group stayed small due to safety guidelines. We have moved to a virtual option again as the shelter in place order was reissued and as weather has gotten colder. We look forward to doing classes in person again! Join the Facebook Group if you are interested!
Promotoras
Three Neighborhood Fitness Instructors are currently being trained to become Promotoras, also known as Community Health Workers. These Community Health Workers will serve as liaisons between health educators, communities, social services, and other healthcare professionals. To put what they are learning in action and support the community, they are kicking off a weekly Women’s Support Group on Fridays. If you or someone you know would like to join email jennifer@everyneighborhood.org
Literacy Mentoring
Creatively Connecting
The 2020-21 school year is nothing like any of us could have imagined. Remote learning is far from ideal, especially for our youth who were already behind academically. However, it has led to a much deeper connection between kids’ home and school lives. And now that our Literacy Mentors “go into” families’ homes virtually multiple times a week, they’ve become a part of that school and home connection.
Here are just a few of the wins:
- Mentors personally delivered 77 Literacy bags to students’ homes. Bags included supplies to support online Literacy sessions and encourage more reading at home!
- Parents see mentors as a resource/connection to the community. Many mentors have been asked about where to find counseling services, further tutoring, free school supplies, etc.
- Quote from one mentor Lisa about her student Rollie: I’m so grateful for Rollie’s family – I dropped off the literacy bag at Rollie’s grandparents home and visited the grandfather for 15 minutes! I have 4 different family member’s contact information so wherever he is, he makes his appointment. I often meet with him for a full hour and the time just flies! He is a special student!
- Outside of K-3 Literacy Mentoring we’ve also started supporting high schoolers at 2 local group homes. We even have mentors from India and Nigeria working with these kids – literally connecting them to the world!
We currently have 121 mentors working with 242 kids across 18 schools, 6 after school sites and 2 group homes and we connected 21 volunteers to support 6 in-person learning hubs across the city.
If you would like to volunteer, we have kids on our waitlist that need your help! Email jenessa@everyneighborhood.org or fill out our Volunteer App.
Recreational Resilience
Building Resilience
In 2017, ENP served as the convening organization that helped develop the Fresno County Trauma and Resilience Network (T&R Network), a workgroup of the Fresno County Health Improvement Partnership (FCHIP). The mission of the T&R Network is to Provide Resilience-Based, Trauma-Informed Resources, Support, and Partnerships to Communities, CBO’s, Institutions, and Initiative Across Fresno County.
By the end of 2019, ENP and the T&R Network had provided trauma-informed training to over 900 people and we were positioned to do even more in 2020. Unfortunately, because of COVID very little of what any of us had planned and hoped for in 2020 materialized. However, being rooted in Resilience, ENP. the T&R Network, our partners, and are our community are adjusting and continuing the work of providing resources, supports and partnership to build healthy and thriving communities.
We would like to invite you to our monthly T&R Network meeting taking place on the 3rd Friday of every month from 8:30 am to 10:00 am. Our next meeting is scheduled for December 18, 2020. For more information, email brian@everyneighborhood.org or Register Here.
City-Wide Equipping
Undivided
ENP has committed to bringing an UNDIVIDED course to Fresno in February.
UNDIVIDED is a six-session journey designed to help individuals grow within the context of a diverse group setting. Our program follows our 6R’s (Redeem, Relationship, Reality, Repentance, Reconciliation, & Reignite) to spark conversations that are catalysts for the kind of growth that bridges racial divides.
If you are interested in being one of the key leaders to go through it or in sponsoring the course, please email andrew@everyneighborhood.org.
Discover Fresno – Jan 30th
2020 has been impacted by the Creek Fire, COVID-19, and racial tension. Discover Fresno will examine ways the people of Jesus have entered these events and how you can be a part of continuing to take the gospel into tough places and spaces.
ENP is partnering with The Well, Cross City Church, First Presbyterian Church, NorthPointe Church, and the Fresno Mission to put on this 3 hour workshop on January 30th, 2021. More info coming soon…
Digital Parent Literacy – Jan 26th
COVID has highlighted the need for more computer and digital literacy training for parents and adults alike. ENP will be offering our first Digital Literacy Classes in English and Spanish starting January 26th. More details coming. If interested in enrolling in the class, email susana@everyneighborhood.org.
Information to Share
CBO Call – Thursday, Dec 17th
If you want a bi-weekly dose of COVID-19 Health Updates and to learn about the latest topics that are affecting Fresno County join the Fresno County CBO Call.
www.centralvalleycf.org/covidcall
Fresno County Food Map
Looking to point people to food distributions around you? Or looking for food yourself? Thanks to Bitwise Inc and Shift3 Technologies and the COVID-19 Fresno County Food Group we built a map that has every food distribution in Fresno County that we know of on it. This is an INCREDIBLE resource. You can also embed it on your org/church website! Visit fresnocountyfood.org
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