It's Our Money

Name of Your Organization:

YVote/Next Generation Politics

Overview of the Project - Please provide a brief description of the project.

The Green Space project entails implementing a roof garden at a school in Brooklyn Community Board 16 (Brownsville) which is a community with a high rate of teen pregnancy, unemployment, and idleness with a youth index of 0.66. The purpose of Green Space is to promote the importance of the environment in student experiences by facilitating environmental friendliness. The roof garden will also improve student mental health as according to the Journal of Positive Psychology, brief interaction with the natural environment improves mood, which is especially important during COVID-19 and beyond.

Which of the following issues does your project address?

1. Issue 1 - Addressing Mental Health
2. Issue 2 - Preparation for College and/or Career
3. Issue 3 - Youth Advocacy Promotion

We will address 1, 2, and 3

Youth Engagement - Please explain how you will engage youth in the planning and implementation of the project.

The roof garden will engage youth in environmental education during school hours, while also giving students responsibilities after school in caring for the vegetation. This will teach youth the importance of organizing and delegating tasks in order to ensure the success of the garden and of the students. This will give youth hands -on experiences with the environment, motivating them to take action in regards to environmental justice in their communities.

In addition, this project is entirely designed and led by youth leaders of YVote’s Environmental Justice action group.

Budget - Your total project budget must equal $20,000 to be placed on the ballot for a youth vote. Please provide a brief description of what the funds would be used for to successfully implement your project. You will also need to download, fill in, and attach a full budget using this template.

[ATTACHED]

Timeline- Please describe the timeline for the implementation and completion of the project. All work for this project must be completed by June 30, 2021, which is the end of the city’s fiscal year and the deadline for the funds to be spent.

[ATTACHED]

Project Activity Alignment - How does your project align with at least one of the following topics:

1. Leadership skills development: organizing & advocacy trainings
2. Stewardship of public spaces: public parks, transportation, etc.
3. Youth and student engagement
4. Civic education and advocacy
5. Community outreach involving residents that have been historically underrepresented in or underserved by city government and its processes

Our project aligns with all five! This project aligns primarily with stewardship of public spaces, leadership skill development, and youth and student engagement. The roof garden is a public space for students and faculty at the school, therefore it is teaching the youth the importance and benefits of maintaining public spaces in fostering community. The project also develops leadership skills for youth in responsibilities of caring and keeping the garden with planting and watering. In addition, youth can see the direct result of their active leadership by the success of the roof garden. Green Space also allows for youth and student engagement as they are actively involved in the decision making of caring for the garden. This hands on experience will encourage youth involvement, translating into engagement in science class, specifically in Life Science, Biology, and Environmental Science.

What is your organization's area of focus?

1. Children and youth related
2. Advocacy and organizing
3. Arts and culture
4. Civic engagement
5. Education and literacy
6. Emergency management and disaster response
7. Employment and workforce development
8. Environment and sustainability
9. Faith-based
10. Food access
11. Health and medicine
12. Homelessness and/or affordable housing
13. Human rights
14. Human services
15. Immigrants and/or refugees
16. Justice related
17. Legal services
18. People with disabilities
19. Senior services
20. Women's issues

We focus on 1, 2, 4, 5, and 8. YVote is a cross partisan youth voting movement which helps youth to channel passion into positive civic engagement with youth from all five boroughs in NYC. As a result of the lack of youth civic involvement, YVote creates a space for political discussion on issues youth are passionate about, while making positive changes in their communities.

Affirmations - Type \"YES\" below each statement to affirm that you are eligible to appear on the ballot for this process.

I confirm that my organization will be registered in the NYC Payee Information Portal and in PassPort, NYC’s online procurement system, in order to receive funding from the City of New York.

Yes

I confirm that my organization is able to front the costs of implementing this project. Organizations will be paid based on deliverables. 

Yes

Completion of Deliverables: I understand all deliverables must be completed by June 30th, 2021.

Yes

I understand a condition of funding includes submission of a final report upon project completion, and participating in a debrief session with the CEC.

Yes