Program

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Jericho Road Roxbury:

unique neighborhood, unique partnership

Jericho Road Roxbury (JR Rox) creates a bridge between the UU Urban Ministry’s Greater Boston congregations and the nonprofits serving Roxbury by matching skilled volunteers with the needs of community based organizations. Participants will learn about exciting projects underway, participate in a hands-on workshop around cultural competence, and understand how they and their congregations can get more involved.

www.jrroxbury.org

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Welcome & Introductions

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Rev. Catherine Senghas, Executive Director UU Urban Ministry, Roxbury, MA

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Gail Schoenbrunn, Chair and Jericho Road Volunteer, JR Rox Steering Committee

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Karla Baehr, Member and Jericho Road Volunteer, JR Rox Steering Committee

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Tony Ibañez, Member First Church Boston UU and JRRox Volunteer

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Intended Outcomes for this Morning

 Know more about the mission of Jericho Road Roxbury (JRRox) and how we organize for success  Learn a bit about what we’ve done so far  Understand how cultural competence plays a part in how successful we can be  Know how you can get involved  Get to know three other participants better 3

How we’re organized

Jericho Road JR Lowell JR Worcester JR Pasadena … Jericho Road Roxbury UU Urban Ministry Renewal House Bethany House RYP (Roxbury Youth Programs) 4

The Jericho Road Vision Goal

Enhanced quality of life for underserved cities and citizens

Strategy

Build communities of higher-performing nonprofits

Approach

Bridge skilled volunteers with the needs of nonprofits 5

The Jericho Road History

2003 2005 2009 2010 2012

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2014 Lowell Lawrence Worcester Lynn Pasadena (CA)

Roxbury *

Dallas

*First site launched by a three-church collaboration *First embedded site in an existing nonprofit (UUUM)

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An Introduction to Roxbury

    Roxbury was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony . During the massive migration from the South to northern cities in the 1940s and 1950s, Roxbury was called “the heart of black culture in Boston”; today it’s a vibrant mix of Caribbean, Hispanic and black cultures The area declined during social upheaval and urban renewal programs of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Grassroots efforts by residents and a vibrant nonprofit community have led to Roxbury’s revitalization, but it remains a “work in progress” 8

Our Promise to the Nonprofits of Roxbury

The nonprofits serving greater Roxbury are experts in their respective fields but are often under-resourced. Jericho Road Roxbury recruits volunteers with specific professional skills to tackle or complete projects that help nonprofits build capacity and improve their impact on the community. As a program of the UUUM, which has been in Roxbury for over 30 years, we tap volunteers from Boston area UU congregations and their surrounding communities. There are no deadlines for application, no costs and no bureaucracy. There is one application and one mission: to help nonprofits help our neighbors here in vibrant Roxbury.

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We’re all in the bridge building business

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At home with the UU Urban Ministry

Jericho Road Roxbury is bridging our UU community with our neighbors in Roxbury by matching the professional talents of volunteers with the needs of community-based nonprofit organizations serving the greater Roxbury community to promote community development, strengthen social services and put our faith in action. 11

How we do it

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A Sampling of Projects

 A plan for leadership transition for Project Hip Hop  A data migration project for The City School  Financial templates for the Mission Hill Youth Collaborative  A new Policies & Procedures manual for Diamond Girls  Grant research/writing for La Alianza Hispana & Discover Roxbury 13

A satisfied partner

WAITT House is an adult literacy program designed to empower adult learners with the English and analytical fluency that will help them realize their potential and improve their lives.

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A satisfied partner

The project? Build a robust, easy-to-navigate website for all users: donors, grant writers, students & partners.

The Outcome?

Before After 15

A satisfied partner

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A satisfied partner

The Family Van provides free preventive health services, health education, and referrals to individuals in under served neighborhoods. 17

A satisfied partner

The Project? A feasibility study to help The Family Van decide whether or not to expand into the Corporate Wellness market. JR Rox volunteers interviewed Family Van advisors, reviewed operations and financing, and investigated the market opportunity to provide services to the local Corporate Wellness market.

The Outcome? The Family Van has a feasible model to improve sustainability and more effectively meet program goals.

“We needed an in depth analysis of this market opportunity and did not have the internal capacity to do it….We can now move forward based on a clearer understanding of both the costs and benefits to our organization.”

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Another satisfied partner

The Food Project

Youth. Food. Community The Food Project is a youth development and urban agriculture program based in Roxbury. Its new Executive Director had secured interest from a Harvard program that lends expertise to nonprofits, but needed to revise its vision and mission to be eligible. Under pressure to act quickly, the Food Pantry sought out the help of Jericho Road Roxbury. 19

Another satisfied partner

The project? A JR Rox volunteer team led four planning sessions in four weeks for a team of Board, staff and youth.

The outcome? Through dialogue and analysis, the team achieved a consensus on a promising vision statement, established a team committed to making the hard choices required to achieve it, and laid the foundation for putting the vision into practice. 20

Support for Volunteers

Expectations for JR Rox Volunteers       Listen first.

Be your most culturally aware self.

Respect the nonprofit as the expert in what it does.

Don’t think you have all the answers.

Present options, not prescriptions.

Be prepared to do problem solving WITH the nonprofit lead, not try to hand him/her answers.

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Effective partnership requires intentional relationships

Because intentional relationships require cultural competence, JR Rox works to support its volunteers with workshops to build competence and confidence 1.

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Reading culture: our own and others’ Questions that build relationship, trust & capacity Culturally responsive listening Representing JR Rox with integrity and commitment 22

Workshop Activity #1: What’s in a name?

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Please pair up with someone you do not know.

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Introduce yourselves by briefly describing your congregation’s social justice /social action work, and then explaining the origin of your own name and what your name means to you.

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Reading culture: people

Culture is everything we believe and do that identifies us as part of a group and distinguishes us from other groups. Many people think of culture as their race or ethnicity, but we are much more complex than that. Most people belong to several groups and identify strongly with two or three. So when we talk about our culture, we consider all the groups we identify with strongly or from which we derive our identity.

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Reading culture: organizations

Organizations have cultures, too. Each member knows what behaviors are expected and affirmed within it. By understanding the culture of the organization in which we volunteer, we will be better able to communicate, build trust and manage any tension and conflict with the staff of the nonprofit. *Distinguish between the nonprofit lead’s personal culture and the organization’s culture (they aren’t necessarily the same!)

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Reading culture: some sources of difference

 Organizational foundation: corporate, government, education or nonprofit  Primary language  Social/economic background & status  Level of formal education & training  Generation  Gender identity & sexual orientation  Race & ethnicity  Place of residence 26

Building intentional relationships

Building intentional relationships requires that each of us RECOGNIZES:      …Entitlements, especially those due to age, gender, race, experience, training and education …Our own and others’ tendency to over-generalize from a single or small number of examples or experiences …The value of cultural “congruence” Is what I say and do respectful of the other’s culture AND authentic to myself?

…Limitations created by our own cultural perspectives …The importance of offering carefully considered opinions as options, not prescriptions 27

Workshop Activity #2: Questions that build relationship, trust & capacity Choose your question type(s) carefully

 OPEN questions cause people to talk  CLOSED questions can be answered by yes/no, and are useful to confirm a fact or understanding  FACT FINDING questions focus on what is measurable or observable  OPINION questions ask the person’s opinions; they ask about attitudes and reactions 28

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Will you help us build this bridge?

We need your support:       Donations Volunteering Recruiting other volunteers for us Serving as your congregation’s JR Rox key contact Introducing us to nonprofits who might benefit from our support Helping launch a new site (!) 30

Top 10 nonprofit interests 1.

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Board development Event planning Graphic design Marketing & communication Photography Strategic planning

Assessment & evaluations Fundraising Grant writing IT

Matching Interests & Skills Top 10 Volunteer Skills 1.

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Board development Event planning Copy, Edit & Graphics Marketing & Presentation Photography Strategic planning

Coaching & facilitating Presentation & speeches Training & Instruction 31

Stay Connected with JR Rox Postcards

The JR Rox “Ride” #1

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The JR Rox “Ride” #2

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The JR Rox “Ride” #3

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Stay connected!

 Sign up for email updates   Apply to volunteer Invite a JRRox team to:  present from the pulpit  do a Q&A with your social justice/social action committee  lead a presentation and discussion at or after coffee hour  Ask Tony Ibañez to come to your church for one of his JR Rox “Sunday rides” 36

Questions?

Suggestions?

Wonderings?

How to reach us:

[email protected]

www.jrroxbury.org

www.uuum.org

www.jerichoroadproject.org

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www.jerichoroadproject.org

One day, the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be beaten and robbed as they make their journey through life. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it understands that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., from the speech Beyond Vietnam (April 1967

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