New Vista/Red Sox Community Service Event Central Falls Rhode Island

Hello my name is Sarah Habtemariam. I am the new  AmeriCorps Vista working the coalition this year. My title is called the Program and Resource Developer. I am in charge of maintaining this website. I hope you enjoy the changes and updates. Just to give you a brief background  of myself, I would like to say that I am originally from Wichita Kansas. My ethnic background is from Eritrea, located on the Horn of Africa and bordering the Red Sea. I came to the east cost in 2006 for college. I lived in Putney Vermont for two and a half years and then moved to Cambridge Massachusetts were I finished my major requirements at Lesley University. I graduated in May 2011 with my Bachelors in Global Studies. I completed two internships. Throughout my college years I studied abroad in three countries, Costa Rica, Greece and Ireland in which I studied history, anthropology, and participated in service learning. I look forward to helping YouthBuild programs empower our young people and continually support community service withing the community. It is wonderful to be here and I hope to have a great year. So stay tuned and I will provide you with the latest details.


One of the first things I would like to address is YouthBuild's on-going relationship with the Red Sox foundation. Recently, on September 17, 20011 coalition members such as YB Boston, Providence, NewBedford, Fall River, and Brockton assisted with the renovation of two city parks in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Other organization such as Covidien, Children's Friend, and Night Vision also contributes to this day of service. Our main accomplishments was the building and distribution of picnic tables, playground materials, plants and trees. We all came together to make a difference in the town of Central Falls. The results unbelievable and the town was left with a new found hope to keep going and keep living during rough times. See below some of the photos that were taken.

 

Our second service project was completed in Springfield Massachusetts. The primary beneficiary was a Private non-profit organization called "Square 1", which is an Early Childhood Education Center. This organization assist with supporting working families in Western Massachusetts . They provide an array of affordable services to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in an excellent environment. Square 1 operates four children centers within Springfield and one in Holyoke  Massachusetts. Some of the tasks that were completed were the construction of a pergola, picnic tables and landscaping. Other primary participants were organizations such as the Red Sox Foundation, Covidien, and YouthBuild. Everyone was very impressed with the results and proud to help support the comminity. See photos of the day of service below.