Located in the heart of Nubian Square, Frugal is a community bookstore in Roxbury with a passion for promoting literacy within our children, teens, and adults. Frugal is a local family business owned by Leonard Egerton and Clarrissa Cropper, driven by the powerful mission. |
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Village Voices
Network members' voices bring good news and share highlights from
around our community.
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Social Justice Transformation - All Minds, All Hearts, All Hands on Deck |
Latoya Gayle, a long-time leader with Vital Village Networks (VVN), has been an advocate for marginalized communities in Boston for many years. Gayle was first drawn to VVN when she participated in the Social Justice Mediation Program (SJMP), an effort that aims to train community members in conflict resolution skills that can be used to help build capacity in various settings.
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Women's History Month Events and Celebrations |
March is Women's History Month! For March we are honoring and supporting women in the community. Join the City of Boston in celebrating women's contributions to Boston's history throughout the month of March! Happy Women's History Month!
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Sherry Brooks-Roberts, Equity Fund recipient and Community Partner |
To recognize and support Black leaders across the country working tirelessly on formal and informal initiatives on behalf of their community, Family Independence Initiative (FII) launched the UpTogether Equity Fund.
Sherry Brooks- Roberts is a community partner and Equity Fund recipient who dedicated the fund to the children of her community, where they are developing a school, Boston Urban Academy.
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Network Events
Connect with Vital Village Network at these upcoming events. Click
event to RSVP or learn more.
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Mental Health Committee: Planning for May Mental Health Month 2021 and Beyond! |
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As we prepare for our May Mental Health Campaign, the Mental Health Committee invites you to join us as we build upon past May Mental Health Awareness efforts and explore how social-emotional and mental health awareness efforts can be further incorporated across the Vital Village Network.
Next General Meeting: Wednesday, March 17th
Time: 5:30-6:30pm
RSVP for our next meeting here and complete this form to receive more updates on the first meeting and ongoing efforts!
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March Network Connection Meeting |
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Courageous Conversations: Rooted in Healing: Social Justice, Racial Identity, and Our Children |
Join us on Monday, March 22nd at 5:30pm for our March Network Connection Meeting co-hosted by Vital Village Networks and Smart from the Start. We will explore how teaching children the history of our journey to racial equity and social justice will help them embrace their identity, heal and thrive.
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March 30, 6pm-7:30pm
Every Thursday at 3:30 pm
April 15th, 12pm-1pm
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Community Events
Join Vital Village Network partners and other community organizations at these upcoming events. Click event to RSVP or learn more.
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March 11th at 6:30pm
March 18th at 6:30pm (En Español!)
March 25th at 6:30pm
Join Neighborhood Villages for a series of conversations about the Covid-19 vaccine. These discussion panels have been designed especially for early educators so that you can ask your questions and have them answered by trusted doctors and medical professionals.
March 11th, 6pm - 7:15pm
Join the City of Boston for a virtual financial empowerment speaker session. The speaker session includes four virtual breakout sessions:
- homebuying
- life insurance
- entrepreneurship, and
- retirement plans.
March 18th, 3pm - 4pm
An intergenerational discussion showing the passion to get involved knows no age. Seniors from the Age Strong Commission will exchange stories with some of Boston’s youth leaders from Girls Give Back. They'll share experiences of coming of age in unique times. They'll also discuss how different generations can work together to change their communities.
March 22nd, 9am - 10am
The Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and Deloitte released a report called, "It’s Her Time: Women Entrepreneurship in Massachusetts". There will be a discussion about the report and its findings around current trends for women small business owners in the Boston area. The talk will be followed by a panel discussion.
March 23th, 2021 12:00pm,
Examines issues of racialized inequities and bias on the early care and education experiences for Latino children and families, explores a strengths-based approach to forging culturally and linguistically responsive relationships, and identifies policies and practices to strengthen culturally responsiveness in IECMHC in order to reduce disparities and support children’s healthy development and learning.
March 29th, 4pm- pm
Join Boston Public Library teen librarians for an info session about this project to bring teen's own voices about their experiences in the library to library staff.
StreetCred offers free tax preparation to make sure you get the money you deserve!
We help individuals with children who make under 56K and individuals without children who make less than 25K per year. Documents needed to file: Government-issued ID, Social Security Card, W2 forms for all jobs in 2020, All 1099 Forms, Proof of health insurance.
Registration for Explore It Summer Camp is now OPEN TO ALL!
Explore It will provide full-day, in-person, week-long summer camp experiences for children entering grades K-2. Campers will enjoy the full Museum, play games, explore the Museum's waterfront and the adjacent Martin's Park, as well as engage with hands-on STEAM discovery experiences.
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Opportunities
Check out job, volunteer, and grant opportunities available in our
community.
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We have a new opportunities page! Please click the button below for a full list of job, volunteer, and grant opportunities with descriptions and links. |
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Resource Connector
Learn more about resources relevant to children and families in our community from our community.
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VVN Wellness Bank Resource Guide |
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The Wellness Idea Bank is a comprehensive and community-driven guide for those in the Greater Boston Area that helps collect events, ideas, and resources for supporting wellness and social connections. Please check out the new February edition of our community-created Resource Guide, tailored to and focused on relevant and time-sensitive resources for residents of the Greater Boston Area.
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Massachusetts Association for Mental Health (MAMH) has worked to improve understanding of mental health conditions and combat disparities in health services access. We envision a day when all individuals and families across the Commonwealth have the resources and opportunities they need to promote resilience and protect overall health.
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Boston Center for Independent Living, Youth Services are aimed at empowering young people to make a smooth transition from youth to adult services. While the five core services are the same, BCIL youth staff work with the consumer to tailor services to the unique needs of youth and their families.
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COVID-19 Information and Resources |
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Scoop on the Stats
Explore data related to early childhood education and network initiatives!
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The Child Wellbeing Support Community Needs Assessment Survey was created to uplift community perceptions on how the pandemic has impacted the mental health of children and families in Boston and identified strategies so that Vital Village Networks and their partner organizations could better support these arising needs.
The community needs assessment was distributed from July-November 2020 in both English and Spanish. We received 76 complete surveys in both English (76%) and Spanish (24%). Please see a summary of the findings below!
Acknowledgments
Families and Children who completed the survey
Partners who distributed the survey
Julia Slayne, Vital Village Emerging Leader
Andrea Kuriyama, Vital Village Emerging Leader
Vital Village Mental Health Committee Survey Co-Design
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Sharing Technology
Explore technology related to child and family well-being.
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The Abundance App 3.0.1 is now available on iOS and Android devices, as well as on desktops. Abundance empowers Boston residents to easily access affordable, high-quality food resources. Download the FREE app today!
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CONtexts aims to promote positive outcomes between caregivers and children by sharing weekly resources through a FREE text service and interactive resource sharing map. These resources are ideal for anyone working with or caregivers of children ages 0-5.
To subscribe, text KIDS to 8-8-5-8-8
Once you're subscribed you will receive 3 weekly FREE text messages:
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Monday: Nearby community resources
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Wednesday: Wellness tips
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Friday: Family-fun events
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Our Mission
Vital Village is a network of residents and agencies committed to maximizing child, family, and community wellbeing.
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Share with Us
Have an event, job opportunity, or resource to share with the network?
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Stay Connected
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