This year, the Union Square Awards will mark
its tenth anniversary by honoring eight important, emerging community
organizations in
and by adding a Special Achievement Award to recognize four past recipient
organizations. The awards ceremony itself will take place on December 8th at
Special Achievement Awards of $100,000 each
will go to four past awardees for their outstanding accomplishments. In
addition, eight emerging organizations will each receive the prestigious
$50,000 Union Square Award in recognition of their exceptional work addressing
critical issues that are otherwise overlooked, neglected or inadequately
addressed. This years awardees work on a range of social justice concerns and
span across neighborhoods from Brooklyns
Bronx
Union Square Award recipients are widely
recognized locally and nationally as visionaries and leaders. They engage new
communities in public discourse, change public policy, and create innovative
models of service.
"We wanted to make this, our tenth year, a particularly unique and
uplifting one," said Union Square Awards Executive Director Iris Morales.
"So, we decided to add the ‘special achievement award’ for past Union
Square Award recipients who have sustained themselves and expanded their work
despite minimal resources. Their work is recognized nationally and
internationally for revitalizing local neighborhoods and making significant and
lasting contributions to the people of our City," she continued.
The Union Square Awards realize the dream of
an anonymous donor to bring attention to grassroots activists taking action to
improve peoples lives and create social change. The Awards are named after the
park on
where New Yorkers have organized and spoken out about major social issues since
the nineteenth century. Since its inception in 1998, the Union Square Awards
has granted more than $10 million to 160 organizations that have not yet
received either substantial funding or public accolade.
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
A $100,000 award toward general operating support will be made to four past
Union Square Award recipients for their outstanding achievement in the
following areas:
Developing Youth Leaders
The Brotherhood/Sister Sol (BSS)
is a Harlem-based organization that offers educational and organizing programs
to develop Black and Latino youth as critical thinkers and community leaders.
Award recipient.
Creating Innovative Models
Based in
Children is a multi-faceted family services provider for
incarcerated and formerly incarcerated mothers and their children that offers a
range of supportive services both in prison and in the community.
Award recipient.
Mobilizing Local Communities
Make the Road New York
promotes economic justice, equity and opportunity through community and
electoral organizing, strategic policy advocacy, leadership development, education,
and legal and support services.
Union Square
Building Leadership for Community
Development
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice,
a center for urban ministry located in the Bronx River Soundview/Bruckner
neighborhoods, develops the leadership of young people and local residents so
they may engage in rebuilding their communities.1998 Union Square Award
recipient.
Eight grassroots organizations will receive the $50,000 Union Square Award.
The Arab American Association of
New York provides a range of
health and educational programs, social services and cultural activities for
Arab immigrant families living in
Co-Founding Members, Basemah Atweh, Dr. Ahmad Jaber, Hicham El-Anmati &
Suhad Kazma.
Grassroots Artist Movement
(G.A.ME) is a membership
organization providing leadership development and other programs for Black and
Latino youth in the
Omowale Adewale, Mutulu Olugbala, Neneh Jalloh-Adewale & Francis Peña.
In the Spirit of the Children works with young people who have lived in New York
Citys foster care system providing programs to help them successfully
transition into adulthood and to prevent them from becoming or remaining
homeless. Founder & Director, E.P. Jones.
The Interfaith Coalition of
Advocates for Reentry and Employment (ICARE) works to restore the rights of the formerly
incarcerated. It conducts educational workshops, seeks legislative changes, and
assists in ministry development. Founder & Director, Rima Vesely-Flad,
La Union de la Comunidad Latina is a member-directed community organization that
mobilizes and builds leadership among Latino immigrants in
to improve living and working conditions. Co-Founding Members, Artemio Guerra,
Leticia Alanis, Elizabeth Mendoza & Gerardo Cacique.
Mentoring in Medicine aims to
increase diversity in the health field and address health care disparities by
providing opportunities and hands-on experience to low-income students of
color. Co-founders, Dr. Lynn Holden, Dr. Yvette Calderon & Dr. Jocelyn
Freeman-Garrick.
Queens Congregations United for
Action is committed to
building a faith-based organization that unites the community to achieve social
justice through organizing. Co-Founders, Pastor Bruce Ferguson & Reverend Dr.
Lancelot Waldron.
The Red Hook Initiative works to confront and affect the consequences of
intergenerational poverty by providing support in the areas of education,
employment, health and community development. Founder & Director, Jill
Eisenhard.