Springtime Energy!
Spring is here! We are thrilled to see the start of a new season coming our way, with the new life and energy it brings.
Our Kingston Fellows are active this semester supporting various community projects, both across the region and with our next-door neighbors here in Kingston, NY. At People's Place, we have been lucky to join in the many facets of the good work they do for the Kingston Community. Our fellows prepared lunches at the Community Cafe, sorted goods at the Thrift Store, and organized spaces for the Wellness Empowerment Center to hold holistic wellness events.
Our fellows also had the pleasure of helping create spaces for the many animals in need of homes at the Ulster County SPCA and helped create delicious meals to be delivered to members of the Kingston community with Angel Food East.
We traveled to our northern neighbors at The Saugerties Lighthouse to support an ecological shoreline stabilization project happening along the Hudson River. We bundled live cuttings of willow and dogwood and replanted them along the shoreline so that the shoreline ecosystems, as well as the public walking paths, remain intact for years to come.
Carrying bundles of willow & dogwood along the Hudson River at the Saugerties Lighthouse!
Fellows joined the NY Caring Majority with one of our lead educators, Mark Ressl and his partner Sage Jobsis, and other activists from across the state to fight for Fair Pay for Home Care Workers at the New York State Capital. Our Kingston Fellows experienced firsthand the power of activism; how showing up for justice for underrepresented or marginalized groups can truly make an impact on our local government's decision making processes. Activists often gather at the state capital during this time of year, as it is when the fiscal budget is created for the following year.
In addition to speaking up at the State Capital, fellows shared their ideas with the City of Kingston through a letter regarding food access with our community partner Live Well Kingston. Fellows spoke about their need for healthy food access across the city, as many. Soon, our fellows will again visit members of our city council to present their collaborative landscape design for the commons with our partner Kan Landscape Design.
As we begin winding down our Fellowship year, our focus has begun to look towards future plans for our fellows following Place Corps programming. Our fellows have been interested in exploring various options and placement following the Kingston Fellowship, including pursuing carpentry, farming, culinary school, and beginning college in the fall!
We are so excited to see what kinds of adventures our Kingston Fellows pursue following our program <3
We will leave you with a wonderful quote from one of our favorites here at Place Corps, Adrienne Marie Brown:
"Do you already know that your existence--who and how you are--is in and of itself a contribution to the people and place around you? Not after or because you do some particular thing, but simply the miracle of your life. And that the people around you, and the place(s), have contributions as well? Do you understand that your quality of life and your survival are tied to how authentic and generous the connections are between you and the people and place you live with and in?" -Adrienne Maree Brown
With gratitude,
Place Corps Team <3