EL PUENTE DE WILLIAMSBURG INC

Causes: Children & Youth, Youth Centers & Clubs

Mission: Founded in 1982, El Puente is a community initiative dedicated to harnessing the energy and efforts of the diverse peoples of Brooklyn. We believe that the coming together of many brings forward our power of self-determination. We mold our individual and collective condition, whether at home, in the community or in the world. El Puente builds connections through the involvement of individuals in any or all of its institutional cornerstones: the four Leadership Centers, for after-school/-work daily and weekend programs; the A+ rated El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, the United States' first public high school for human rights; the Community Health and Environment Institute (CHE Institute), which facilitates federally funded community-driven scientific research, and which recently launched the "Green Light District" to complete the transformation of the Southside into a model American neighborhood for community health, and educational, cultural and environmental wellness; and El Puente Arts (EPA), a People's Conservatory—Brooklyn's most comprehensive Latino center for arts and culture. While each branch has its unique focus and goals, member are nurtured within an integrated, holistic program that draws from all four divisions, developing a well-rounded social awareness that prompts action and expression. True peace is the natural result of justice, and true justice can only be made possible by comprehension and compassion. We believe that individuals who are just can constitute nothing but a just community, and just communities will thus amount to a just and peaceful world.