A Community Network, Powered by People

SUMMER 2014

HIGHLIGHTING LEADERSHIP Photo: Annual Meeting

2014 Time LineAlli Estuve...Aqui EstoyI was There...I am Here

Board of DirectorsPeter Cole, PresidentDolores C. CalafCindy CookTasha EspendezMaria FinaPatrick GrottonArmand HyattJose MedinaMaria NateraSarah B. PerezDenise PerraultRosa PinaAna RodriguezEsther Sanchez-BlazquezMiguel Sanchez

Board of AdvisorsCarmen CarrionFrancis HyattBill TraynorLinda UlisseCharlie Wibiralske

StaffJessica Andors, Executive DirectorRosa Alemán *Ana BelloJuan Bonilla, Deputy DirectorCinthia BreaSebastian Brown *Terri BruceSpencer BuchholzReyna BurgosMercedes Cabrera *Anderson Diaz *Anna Elzer *Todd Fry *Kathy Gallagher, CFOHershey HirschkopLisa KozolVictor MartinezIris MatiasKristin McCauley *Ruchi Mukerjee *Maggie PaganAbdiel PerezAltagracia PortorrealJared RavrebyOsvaldo SalomonRachelly Suriel *Arisleyda Veloz *Kristin Wallace *Arleen Zorrilla* Welcome to new staff who have joined in the last year

Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc. is a community development corporation founded in the late 1980s that weaves together community planning, organizing, and asset-building efforts with high-quality affordable housing and commercial development to create vibrant neighborhoods and empowered residents. By facilitating conversations and action on community priorities, we engage partners and a network of youth and adult residents in opportunities to move themselves and the city of Lawrence forward.

VOICES FROM THE BOARD our present reminds us of our pastLCW TEAM

EditorKristin A. McCauley

DesignerMatt Brown

This year’s Annual Meeting marked the election of two new members to LCW’s Board of Directors, Dolores

Calaf, and Sarah Perez, and the re-election of Mikey Sanchez and Armand Hyatt, who has served continuously since our CDC was founded in 1986. The election also signified the “end of an era”. Long-time Director, Maureen McCarthy—who had served almost the entirety of her 15 year term of Board service on the Executive Committee as LCW’s Treasurer—decided that her role as Board Director and Officer had reached its sunset. Fortunately, Maureen has agreed to continue her service on the LCW Board of Advisors.

During the May Board meeting—the next one that followed the Annual Meeting—the Board of Directors, in conjunction with LCW’s Executive and Deputy Directors and its Finance Department, honored Maureen for her 15 years of dedicated service. Maureen helped steward LCW through its storied “renaissance” period when current Executive Director, Jessica Andors and her two classmates from M.I.T’s Urban Planning Master’s Program (Tamar Kotelchuck and Kristen Harol) teamed up with then Executive Director, Bill Traynor,

(and key staff members Deb Fox and Alma Couverthie) to work closely with the Board to catapult LCW into far broader community impact. LCW soon gained recognition as a model for community development corporations nationwide.

Executive Committee members Miguel Sanchez and Peter Cole, who joined LCW’s Board around the same time as Maureen, together with Executive Committee members Ana Rodriguez and Armand Hyatt, who had both already been serving in leadership roles for several years prior, all reminisced with E.D. Jessica Andors at the May Board meeting about Maureen’s valuable stewardship during her tenure. As a token of appreciation, admiration and affection, Maureen was presented with a plaque which contains the inscription:

LCW Rocks . . . . because of its devoted Leaders

Outstanding leadership, for 15 years, Rocks, big-time

Thank you, Maureen, for your guidance and dedication.

A token of our deep appreciation for your great service.

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Support High-Impact Community Development and Invest in Lawrence There are new opportunities this year (and beyond) via a Community Investment Tax Credit program. Massachusetts tax filers (residents and non-residents) —individuals, foundations, and corporations or businesses—who make a donation to a state certified community development corporation like Lawrence CommunityWorks, can receive a credit on their MA taxes.

As a donor, you are also still eligible to take the standard federal charitable giving deduction for the other 50% of your gift. For example:

• A $1,000 donation = $500 credit on your MA tax return

• A $1,000 donation = $175 net value of $500 federal tax deduction (35% tax bracket)

• Total tax savings = $675

• Cost of your $1,000 donation = $325

• Feeling you have helping Lawrence= PRICELESS

LCW received an allocation of $100,000 in tax credits for 2014, enabling us to raise $200,000 to support our vital investments in the people and places of Lawrence. Credits are awarded at LCW’s discretion and are available to new donors or existing donors.

Benefits: • Considerable tax savings

• Individuals and corporations can take advantage of tax credit

• Credit is equal to 50% of the total qualified investment made by the taxpayer

• Minimum investment of $1,000 and maximum of $1,000,000

• Excess tax credit is REFUNDABLE

DO YOU WANT YOUR SHARE OF $3,000,000 MASSACHUSETTS TAX CREDITS?

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Contact Terri Bruce or Kristin McCauley Resource Development Office at 978-685-3115 Or via email: rd@lawrencecommunityworks.org for more information

* Above used for illustration purposes only. Schedules for 2014 are not currently available. The following is not tax or legal advice. If you have questions about your own tax situation, please consult with a tax professional.

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While the typical Friday night of a Lawrence youth might consist of roaming around the mall,

scrolling through Instagram feeds, or feasting at McDonalds, on May 9th, Movement City youth gathered to channel their creative talents into taking a stand against bullying. In collaboration with Lawrence Public Schools and Andover Bread Loaf, Movement City students, staff, and young leaders from local high schools united to host “Real Talk: Stand Up, Speak Out,” a creative conference seeking to use love, community, and artistic expression to raise awareness about bullying and provide positive tools with which to address the issue. With workshops offered in dance, spoken word poetry, improvisational acting, and mural painting, participants were presented with an array of avenues to explore imaginative solutions to bullying.

Though the conference took place in the Movement City dance room on a warm spring night, the process that brought the event to fruition started in the exact same room nearly six months prior. One weekend in late November, Lawrence CommunityWorks’ own Jared Ravreby and Victor Martinez teamed up

to guide a group of 18 passionate students from Lawrence High School and Phoenix Academy through a service learning driven leadership development program called goLEAD. After three intense days of activities geared around team building, problem solving and community fact-finding, these freshly empowered teens pledged to come together and spearhead a project that would address what they viewed as one of the most pressing issues facing their community: bullying.

After many months of reflecting, brainstorming, and planning, the goLEAD team decided that pairing their cause with the annual Bread Loaf writing conference at Movement City would make for a fun, unique means of bringing the community together to take a stand against bullying. Once parents, teachers, friends, and family had all arrived, Movement City’s spoken word team, Guerilla Society, kicked off the conference with a collection of extremely powerful, original pieces, awakening the audience’s creative juices. The crowd then dispersed into their respective workshops, ready to tackle bullying in their own unique way. Paintbrushes were flicking, feet

were flashing, thoughts were flowing, and smiles were abundant. After about an hour of intense work the groups were ready to showcase their pieces – bullying hardly stood a chance. One by one, the workshop leaders and their teams took the stage, said a few words about their projects, and graced the audience with truly memorable, uplifting performances. Ranging from a gut-busting depiction of a Dominican grandmother’s trip to the pharmacy by the acting team, to tragic, yet beautiful poetry recounting personal experi-ences of being the bully or the bullied, the acts evoked a myriad of emotions. By the end of the night those who were in attendance undoubtedly left feeling empowered to continue their advocacy of ridding our community of such a damaging trend.

A big thanks goes out to the genera-tionON, Nelson Butten, Lou Bernieri, Leldamy Correa, and the countless volunteers who made both the goLEAD retreat and the creative conference such big successes and who’ve been instrumental in guiding our young leaders throughout the journey. goLEAD indeed!

To honor many years of hard work, fierce intelligence, intense and energetic commitment, creativity,

tenacity, and an outstanding generosity of spirit, Lawrence CommunityWorks created a scholarship fund in the name of founding Board member Armand Hyatt. While Armand is officially recognized by LCW for his pro-bono legal counsel and role on our Real Estate Development Committee,

he is equally valued for his support, encouragement, and affection for the young people who are a part of LCW and our Movement City programs.

We are pleased to award four $1,000 scholarships in 2014 to the following students as they all demonstrated creativity, dedication to community, and leadership during their time at Movement City:

Karttieris Medina attending Salem State University

Rayza Carrasco attending Berkeley College in NY

Elissa Salas attending Parsons, the New School of Design in NY

Josia Reyes attending University of Massachusetts Boston

MOVEMENT CITY LEADING THE WAYBy Jared Ravreby, Leadership Development Coordinator at Movement City

ARMAND HYATT SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

L awrence CommunityWorks develops everyone’s assets and strengths - physical, financial, civic, and human assets. After a successful first year at LCW, Mill Cities Leadership Institute joins the

great LCW tradition of building on human strengths across our commu-nities. The Class of 2014 graduated in June, at a ceremony featuring Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera.

One highlight of MCLI is the leadership projects that members of the class develop and commit to working on. These “Leadership Commitments” address both personal and public leadership efforts to make our community stronger. If you want to see the Commitments from this year’s class, you may check them out on the LCW website: www.lawrencecommunityworks.org/mcli.

Want to learn more, or even apply for the MCLI Class of 2015? Check out the website for an overview of the Institute and get the application. You can also plan to attend an information session about the Institute. The info sessions feature coffee and conversation with recent graduates:

Tuesday, July 29 from 3:30pm – 5:00pm Merrimack Valley Federal Credit Union 500A Merrimack Street Lawrence

To sign up for an info session or ask questions about MCLI, contact Todd Fry: TFry@LawrenceCommunityWorks.org

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Of our IDA participants, 90% are lower-income residents of the city of Lawrence.

Few participants were familiar with the economic past and great contribution that this city provided to the entire nation. In the fall of 2013, Lawrence CommunityWorks started to implement the PODER Institute curriculum into the IDA’s workshops. PODER is our leadership building program that teaches people to take active roles in their community to make collective change. Classes include learning about the history of Lawrence, from the Bread and Roses strike to the cities’ constantly developing landscape. The IDA workshops included 4 sessions of 2 hours each with topics such as: What is PODER?, Personal Finance, and Barriers and Wealth Inequality. The combined curriculum was to not only support and educate participants to build wealth through Financial Education and Asset specific trainings, but also provided

them with the knowledge and opened conversations around Lawrence’s history, economic past, and why Lawrence is considered a “Gateway City”.

The intensive conversations seeded in our participants a deep respect for the city and a great desire to be part of the economic development of their community. In the end, we accomplished our goal of partici-pants looking forward to taking action in order to answer questions such as: What can the City of Lawrence do to reinvent itself? But the most important question citizens must ask themselves is: What can I do as an individual to empower this city?

EMPOWERING IDA PARTICIPANTS WITH LEADERSHIP TRAININGBy Arleen Zorrilla, Individual Development Account (IDA) Program Coordinator

MILL CITIES LEADERSHIP INSTITUTEBy Todd Fry, Director MCLI

“Most importantly I have learned that we do not need to feel as though we work in silos! It doesn’t matter if our background is for-profit or non-profit, banking and business or entrepreneurship, corporate or other… We are a community of professionals and are all interconnected in some way, shape or form. We have a lot to learn from one another and a lot to give! We can make a difference if we support one another in any way possible. Sometimes our ideas or visions seem farfetched or unattainable and MCLI has helped me to put things into perspective and make them become more attainable. The MCLI experience has been truly inspiring to me and it has allowed me the opportunity to take action! I highly recommend the program to other professionals seeking a challenge and an opportunity for growth and empowerment. “

Thank you MCLI!

- Lorie Mendoza, Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts (Class of ’14)

What did you gain through your participation in the PODER Leadership Institute?

“Communication skills, American history, learning to work on a team, community engagement.” Beyazmin

Mapping it out

Connecting at Friday TogetherLCW Casa di Anna ribbon cutting

Movement City at Youth Jobs Rally

Facilitator Training

Annual Meeting dinner

LCW team gathers

LC W gets candid

PODER team building Saying goodbye to Lisa

LCW BoardWelcome!

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Foundations: 3M, Abrams Family Fund, Abt Associates, Anonymous, Ash Charitable Corporation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Bank of New York Mellon, Catherine McCarthy Memorial Trust Fund, Charles G. Pringle Foundation, Citi, Citizens Bank, Citizens Housing & Planning Association, Inc., Clipper Ship Foundation, Comcast Foundation, Consumer Federation of America, Cummings Foundation, Deshpande Foundation, Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation, Economic Development & Industrial Corporation of Boston, Edward S. and Winifred G. Moseley Foundation, Enterprise Bank, Essex County Community Foundation Andover Group Fund, Essex County Community Foundation Betty Beland Greater Lawrence Summer Fund, Essex County Community Foundation Women’s Fund, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston – Working Cities Challenge, Forest Foundation, Foundation for Financial Planning, Foundation M, Frank W. & Carl S. Adams Memorial Fund, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee, General Mills Community Action Council, George P. Bishop Foundation, Gisela B. Hogan Charitable Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Greater Lowell Community Foundation – Top of the Hill Fund, Herman and Frieda Miller Foundation, Jenjo Foundation, Josephine G. Russell Trust, Lawrence Community Development Department – CDBG, Lawrence Public Schools, Lawrence Rotary Club, Liberty Mutual Foundation, LLH/LHM Foundation, Margaret M. Collins Charitable Trust, MA Association of Community Development Corporations, MA Department of Housing & Community Development, MA Department of Public Health, MA Division of Banks, MA Housing Finance Agency, MA Housing Partnership, Massachusetts Cultural Council/Lawrence Cultural Council, Massachusetts Public Charter School Association, Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance, Metropolitan Credit Union, National Council of La Raza, NeighborWorks America, New Balance Foundation, Northern Essex Community College, People’s United Community Foundation, Project Bread, Rogers Family Foundation, Roy A. Hunt Foundation, Santander Bank Foundation, Smith Purdon Fund, Artemas W. Stearns Trust, Abbot and Dorothy H. Stevens Foundation, Nathaniel and Elizabeth P. Stevens Foundation, Matthew J. & Gilda F. Strazzula Foundation, TD Bank, TD Charitable Foundation, The Community Group, The Savings Bank, UMass Medical School – Commonwealth Medicine, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Wells Fargo Housing Foundation

Individuals: Jessica Andors, Joanne Anton, Anonymous Donor, Patricia and Stuart Beatty, Trevor Bloom, Debbie and Bradley Buchholz, Louann and Gregory Basillio, Juan P. Bonilla, Thomas J. Burke, Nelson Butten, Jeri Bayer, Julie Bernson, Cinthia Brea, James Barnes, Cynthia and David Cook, Lawrence Ardito and Linda Carpenter, Peter Calkins and Susan Casey, Judi and Kilburn Child, Peter Cole, Keith Connors, Mark Cutler, Carla and Leonard Degnan, Marcos Devers, George Duncan, James D’Angelo, Tasha Espendez, Deborah Olander and Joseph C. Ferguson, Patricia Flynn, Robert Forrant, Kay Frishman, Jeffrey Froikin Gordon, Linda and Patrick S Grotton, John and Anne Marie Giarrusso, Marilyn and Paul Gigliotti, Kathy Gallagher, Susan Garth Stott, Francis Hyatt, Carol Hajjar

McGravey, Diane Huster, Blair Roberts and Caren Jacobson, Priscilla and Nathan Keliher, Langley Keyes, Tamar Kotelchuck, Erica Marcus, The McCauley Family, Jose Medina, Phillip Moss, Peter Munkenbeck, Sara Manaugh, Maureen McCarthy, Gary Martin, Maggie and Jorge Pagan, Denise L. Perrault, Chris Plourde, Richard Purinton, Judith Prestosz, Susan and George Rappaport, Terrie and Kevin Reid, Ana S. Rodriguez, Delfin Rosado, Jared Ravreby, John Raser, Derek Mitchell and Lydia Sisson, Maureen and Tim Sheehan, Faye and Chester Sidell, Deborah J. Becker and Karl F. Seidman, Michael and Rose Sabbagh, Miguel Sanchez, David Stolow, Esther Sanchez Blazquez, Stefanie Steines, Lisa Torrisi, Maria Torrisi, Dave Turcotte, Gail L. Forsyth-Vail and P. Stephen Vail, Joan and Edward Warnshuis, Dr. David Wegman & Carolyn Mugar, Jesse Wegman, Charlie Wibiralske, Samantha Winslow, Mark Winthrop, Pamela Yameen

Businesses: Boehm Architecture, Boston Foundation, Citizens Bank, Clarkston-Potomac Group, Inc. – matching gift program, Committee to Elect Sue Tucker, Consoli & Wilshusen, Attorneys at Law, Davis Square Architects, Durkee Brown Viveiros Werenfels, First Realty Management, FM Global Foundation – matching gift program, Greater Lawrence Young Professionals Network, Groundwork Lawrence, Home Shop Properties, Internet & Telephone LLC, Jackson Lumber & Millwork Co., Inc., Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union/We Share a Common Thread, JJ & C Partnership, Kody & Company, Inc., Landmark Structures, Lawrence General Hospital, Mary Immaculate Health Care Services, Metro Credit Union, Millennium Communications, Muddy Pond Trust Fund, Munro Graphics, Northeast Association of Realtors Inc., Northern Essex Community College, North Parish of North Andover, Pacific Mills Industrial Complex, Robert S. Dorfman Company, Inc., Rodman Insurance Agency, Inc, RTN Federal Credit Union, Second Congregational Church of Boxford, TEC, Inc., The Savings Bank, Three Dogz Diner, United Way of Greater Portland - Campaign 2013/2014, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley - Campaign 2013/2014

Annual Meeting: Community Crusader - MassHousing, Summit Supporter - Chet & Faye Sidell, Mary Young Raffle/In-Kind Donations: - Ashante Cafe & Deli, DharmaCrafts, Inc., El Taller, Go United Express Transp. LLC, Headlight Audio Visual, Hyatt & Hyatt Law Office, Latitude Sports Clubs, Miranda Seafood Restaurant & More, Piro’s Bakery & Pizzeria, The Colosseum Restaurant, The Vitamin Shoppe, Three Dogz Diner, LCW Staff, Board & Volunteers

Community Investment Champions ($1,000+) Robert S. Dorfman Company, Inc., First Realty Management, Klein Hornig LLP, Landmark Structures, Peter Munkenbeck, TEC, Inc.

* Although we try to be diligent in our donor tracking, we sometimes make mistakes. Please forgive us if we have inadvertently excluded your contribution from this list. We would love to hear from you so we can correct it. Please contact the Resource Development Office rd@lawrencecommunityworks.org.

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YES! I would like to support Lawrence CommunityWorks with a donation.

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General Support Program Support (please specify) ________________________

Please mail to Lawrence CommunityWorks, Inc., 168 Newbury Street, Lawrence, MA 01841

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS

Our House Campus168 Newbury StreetLawrence, MA 01841

Follow us for announcements at: www.facebook.com/lcworks www.twitter.com/lcworksorg

National Night OutTuesday, August 5th 5:00-8:00pm Join us at Scarito Park for food, fun & friends

Friday Together/Viernes JuntosFriday, September 26th 6:00pm-8:00pm

Adult Basic Education Fall Classes Classes start Tuesday, September 2, 2014

All classes held Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday from 6:00pm to 8:30pm

English for Speakers of Other Languages - Level I English for Speakers of Other Languages - Level II English for Speakers of Other Languages - Level III Basic Computer

For information on Adult Basic Education classes, please contact Francheska Taveras (978) 722-2622 or Reyna Burgos (978) 722-2623

First Time Home BuyerSeptember 13 & 20 (Sat) 9:00am-3:00pm SPANISH 2 sessions

October 16,17, 23 & 24 (Thurs & Fri) 5:30pm-8:30pm ENGLISH 4 sessions

November 8 & 15 (Sat) 9:00am-3:00pm SPANISH 2 sessions

December 6 & 13 (Sat) 9:00am-3:00pm ENGLISH 2 sessions

For information on Homebuyer classes, please contact Ana Bello (978) 722-2627

HomeSafe: Post-PurchaseSeptember 20 (Sat) 9:00am-3:00pm ENGLISH 1 session

November 15 (Sat) 9:00am-3:00pm SPANISH 1 session

Landlord TrainingOctober 24 (Fri) 5:30pm- 8:30pm SPANISH 1 session

November 22 (Sat) 10:00am- 12:30pm ENGLISH 1 session

Wallet WiseSeptember 9, 16, 23, 30 (Tues) 6:00pm-8:00pm ENGLISH

October 7, 14, 21, 28 (Tues) 6:00pm-8:00pm SPANISH

www.lawrencecommunityworks.org

UPCOMING EVENTS, WORKSHOPS & CLASSES