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Stop, Start, Plant

A teenage boy in a blue BronxWorks shirt bends over a garden, planting a seed. Other children in blue shirts work in the background.

With funding from United Way/Atlas Innovation, BronxWorks started the Stop the Violence, Start the Cleaning, and Plant the Seeds initiative in July, targeting a portion of the Mott Haven neighborhood in Bronx Community District 1. The program is based around the importance of community service to work against violence in the Bronx.

Programming like Stop, Start, Plant supports efforts of young people to strengthen the social fabric of their surroundings.” -Dina Brown, Director of Middle School Programs, BronxWorks

Participants at BronxWorks South Bronx Prep (SBP) Summer Rising camp have done lots of different work in the area surrounding South Bronx Prep, including:

A students gives a thumbs-up while standing with another student near a garden bed
Planting seeds from Seeds In a Jar in the school garden.
A girl in a red shirt looks at a bucket of compost. There are worms in the compost. A hand from off screen points out the worms.
The SBP children received a compost donation from Vibez & Juice Cafe to feed the worms that will nourish the garden
four children sit at a picnic table, working on a posterboard
Visiting the Willis Avenue Community Garden to identify their garden bed and strategize on what they will plant. Participants began designing posters for our STOP,START,PLANT Walk for a Cause on July 27, 2021.
A group of students draw a poste. The poster has messages of positivity and anti-violence.
More poster design.
A brainstorm of the school mural.
They also began brainstorming ideas for a school mural.
A painted mural on a short wall. The mural reads "Stop the Violence", "Be Kind", and "respect" There are paintings of a sun, a flower, a peace symbol, and a bee.
The finished mural at the South Bronx Prep garden.
A group of students and a chaperone stand in front of a large number of trash bags after having cleaned up a park. Everyone is smiling.
Cleaning nearby St. Mary’s Park with the Trash Project organization
Students in blue BronxWorks shirts march along the street carrying signs with messages of peace, including "You Belong Here" and "Be Kind".
Students also participated in the “Stop The Violence” Walk for a Cause and Rally on July 27. The marched in a group from South Bronx Prep to St. Mary’s Park, carrying signs and chanting, “No Violence, More Peace”.
A large group of students stand holding signs. Three police officers stand with the students smiling.
Three officers from the NYPD also took part in the rally, showing solidarity with the BronxWorks youth in their push for no violence.

At the end of the Summer Rising program, each student will receive a $60 gift card for their services and showcase their projects to the School and BronxWorks Communities.

Thank you to our Summer Rising Partners supporting this initiative:

Trash Project (Park & Community Clean Up)
New York Restoration Project (Community and School Garden)
New York City Parks Department (Horse A Course)
New York Football League (Soccer Lessons)
Seeds in a Jar (School Garden Support)
Vibez ‘N’ Juice LLC (Compost Donation)
Bike NYC (Biking Sessions)
Bigs in Blue (Civic Engagement)

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