Redeemer Community Partnership

Programs: Program accomplishments adventures aheadthe goal of adventures ahead is to improve education outcomes for elementary students by achieving grade-appropriate literacy and nurturing each childs development as a lifelong reader. Students who remained with the program for a full year averaged 16. 5 months of improvement in their reading proficiency. Adventures ahead is closing the achievement gap for children in south la and nurturing in each one a life-long love for reading. Adventures in roboticsadventures in robotics allows elementary school students the opportunity to engage in authentic engineering and programming experiences as a part of a first lego league (fll) team while being mentored by members of the usc and exposition park community. In 2012-2013, we registered our first team of 2nd-5th grade students to participate in flls world class challenge. This year, our students built a robot from a lego mindstorms nxt kit and successfully programmed several missions using nxt software. They performed well enough at the qualifying tournament to compete in the regional finals. Adventures in robotics is a critical part of our strategy to nurture high academic achievement and a love for learning that bridges south la children to college and fulfilling careers. Annual harvest carnivalredeemer community partnership in collaboration with a local congregation hosted our annual harvest carnival. The harvest carnival has provided a safe place for children and their families to gather on halloween for nearly 20 years. Several hundred residents participated. In addition to the food trucks, games booths, face-painting, craft stations and an inflatable obstacle course residents were able to take home data and resources related to public school options, advocate for bike lanes, join community campaigns, sign-up for neighborhood bible studies and more. It was a beautiful gathering that brought together the diversity of our neighborhood in a joyful night of friendship and partnership. Make jefferson beautifulmake jefferson beautiful is a community-driven campaign to enhance the beauty, safety and health of our south la neighborhood by revitalizing a major commercial corridor, facilitating active modes of transportation (such as walking and biking), and activating the corridor for community-serving businesses. Working closely with the city of los angeles, we submitted a $6 million active transportation program (atp) grant proposal to caltrans in june 2016. The state received 456 proposals totaling over $1 billion. Rcp's proposal was ranked 8th among these, receiving 95/100 points. This grant will fund protected bike lanes, pedestrian street lighting, curb extensions, a planted median, and road diet to improve safety for people walking and biking on jefferson blvd. We recently worked with the city to request an expedited funding so that work can begin two years sooner than expected, sometime in the 2017/2018 fiscal year. We also secured funding to plant nineteen new drought tolerant trees along jefferson blvd. And to keep them well-watered while they get established. End neighborhood drillingthe jefferson drill site, operated by freeport-mcmoran oil & gas, sits in the middle of our residential neighborhood just a few feet from neighboring homes. The drill site severely impacts community health and safety. In 2013 rcp became a founding member of stand (stand together against neighborhood drilling), a grassroots coalition working to increase health and safety protections near drill sites and eventually, to end neighborhood oil drilling. In january we organized a large group of community residents to testify at a nuisance abatement hearing regarding the jefferson drill site. The zoning administrator heard hours of thoughtful, well-prepared and very specific testimony of the drill site's negative impact on our community. Medical professionals offered scientific evidence of health harms. Residents of adjacent homes played digital recordings of the clanging sound made by the rig. A former marine officer contrasted the situation in our community with the safety protocols he enforced in iraq to protect troops from the same set of hazardous materials. A firefighter described the very real possibilities of large-scale loss of life. Reporters were present and these testimonies were broadly published in print, radio and television media. When months went by without a ruling we began organizing a rally with the theme "justice delayed is justice denied. " keeping the community informed and sustaining regular media coverage are crucial components of this effort.