Support MARP with an Online Gift

Mon, Jan 5th, 2015

With your tax-deductible contribution, we can continue programs that engage and support local youth, older adults, underserved residents, and local artists. Please click  DONATE  to make your online gift today. Every penny counts.

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Have you attended one of our ribbon cuttings or arts and culture events? Have you shared suggestions at one of our meetings, or worked with us as a vital partner or volunteer on one of our Avenue efforts? If so, we thank you for working with the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP) and for being an active participant in our community.  It is not a stretch to say that many accomplishments on Myrtle Avenue could not have been achieved without your support.

Our small not-for-profit organization depends on the support of neighbors like you. In our very first annual appeal, we are asking for your renewed commitment.

We truly appreciate your generosity!

These are just some of our past year accomplishments. We:
  • successfully advocated for significant pedestrian safety improvements on Park Avenue;
  • worked with Ingersoll gardeners to expand to a second location, doubling the number of raised beds & residents growing food & flowers at Ingersoll Houses;
  • placed 20 local youth in paid summer jobs at Myrtle businesses through our Young Entrepreneur and Mentorship Program (YEMP), now in its 5th year;
  • presented the 2nd Annual Black Artstory, a month-long celebration of African American contributions to the arts to local audiences, collaborating with 40+ artists, 15+ local businesses and 8+ partner organizations in exhibits, film screenings, performances & more;
  • launched the Wallabout Historic Walking Tours, sharing 400 years of the neighborhood’s history with 125+ people, free of charge;
  • laid the groundwork to make Myrtle Avenue an Age-Friendly district, gathering input from 70+ local seniors through interviews & focus groups on how to improve the Avenue to better serve older adults;
  • created a business retention plan to help support our small business owners that lie within the construction zone of the Myrtle Avenue Plaza, a new 25,000 square foot public space that will bring FREE public programs to the neighborhood in 2015;
  • organized the very first holiday tree installation and held a lighting ceremony in Fort Greene Park, and look forward to making this an annual community event.
But in a shrinking funding landscape, many of our programs are at risk of being cut, particularly those focused on youth, underserved residents, older adults and local artists.  And this is why we need you more than ever. 
Please help us to reach our goal by sending $10, $25, $50, $75, $100, $500 or $1000 today.  Your dollars will directly support our community-serving programs, including these:

  • Young Entrepreneur Mentorship Program (YEMP) employs local teens for a paid summer employment and mentorship experience with local businesses.  Teens complete 20 hours of work each week and participate in entrepreneurship classes.  Overwhelmingly, YEMP is a first time job experience for participating youth. To date, we have placed 112 local youth in summer jobs, and look forward to placing an additional 25 in 2015. Your contributions will help to support student salaries.
  • Myrtle Eats Fresh Community Chef Program supplies stipends to local residents (many of them older adults, aged 60+) to perform cooking demonstrations using healthy, affordable ingredients at community events, senior centers, and food pantries.  Community chefs have gone through rigorous training and have a passion for nutrition education.  Your contribution will support chef stipends & supplies, helping us deliver healthy food demonstrations in 2015.
  • Arts & Culture brings temporary artwork by local artists to Myrtle Avenue in outdoor public spaces as well as storefront windows and interiors. Our projects represent innovative collaborations between art and enterprise, transforming Myrtle Avenue into an unconventional ‘gallery’.  Your contribution will support artist stipends, commissions, & public programs like Black Artstory Month.
  • Neighborhood Walking Tours guide neighborhood residents and visitors through 400 years of the area’s rich and diverse social and architectural history. Your contribution will go toward tour guide stipends.

With your tax-deductible contribution, we can continue programs that engage and support local youth, older adults, underserved local residents and local artists. Please click  DONATE  to make your online gift today. Every penny counts.

Thank you for believing in the work that we do and best wishes for the New Year!

Checks with your contribution can also be sent to:  Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project LDC, 472 Myrtle Avenue, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY  11205 

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