MPDC's December Newsletter!

December 2020 @ MPDC

MPDC is celebrating 55 years in 2021!

MPDC is thrilled to welcome you to celebrate the 55th Anniversary of the organization's founding by local activists! We hope you share our excitement in acknowledging this important milestone together. Today, we are launching our 55th Anniversary logo, which explicitly recognizes our literal origins at Madison Park. This logo was created by Pleased Designs, a local graphic designer, and is based on an aerial view of the original Madison Park from 1966. We are so excited to honor Roxbury & MPDC's history in this way. Stay tuned in 2021 for an entire year of celebrating the legacy & resiliency of MPDC and Roxbury activists, artists, and residents.

'Tis the season for holiday partnerships

On Saturday, December 12, MPDC teamed up with funding partner Life Science Cares to collect and distribute over 700 holiday gifts to MPDC residents, Soheil Turner Youth Leadership Institute program participants, and other Roxbury children and youth! A team of MPDC and LSC volunteers safely gathered at The Dewitt Center to greet over a dozen life science companies, who dropped off hundreds of toys and gift cards generously purchased by employee volunteers. We are so grateful to have been able to partner with LSC on this fantastic opportunity to bring some holiday joy to MPDC residents and youth.

Special thanks to all participating companies, including

Halloran Consulting, Syros Pharmaceuticals, Visterra, Vor Biopharma, Morphosys, Evelo Biosciences, scPharmaceuticals, Saniona, Jounce Therapeutics, Akili Interactive, Casma Therapeutics, Lyndra Therapeutics, Xilio Therapeutics, Arkuda Therapeutics, Kymera Therapeutics, and Quench Bio.

Thank you, Gabriela Calice, MPDC's College for Social Innovation Fellow!

This semester, MPDC had the pleasure of hosting a fantastic intern through the College for Social Innovation. Gabriela Calice completed her internship as a Community Planning Fellow in December, but her work's impact will be long-lasting. Gabbie is a senior at UMass Amherst and majors in Public Health. When she first began her internship, the connection between public health and a community development corporation was not clear. However, in a matter of weeks, Gabbie was able to apply her public health lens to the conversation of housing and development in Roxbury. Thanks to Gabbie, Roxbury in Motion now has a beautiful and cohesive presence on both Instagram and Facebook, but more importantly, she has contributed an invaluable resource. Gabbie created a glossary as an intentional tool to make the conversation of development in Boston accessible to community members. Technical terms and complicated processes have proven to be one barrier that excludes communities of color from being heard in Boston's planning processes. This was Gabbie's first work experience, and even as a virtual newbie, she knocked it out of the park! Gabbie's glossary will be available on MPDC's website as a printable pdf in the coming weeks.

"Thank you, Madison Park, for allowing me to be a part of the Community Action team and put my knowledge of Public Health into action. This semester has been a great learning experience, and I appreciate this opportunity very much. Thank you to Chavella and the whole team for teaching me about urban planning and how my perspective can be utilized in this space." - Gabriela Calice

Thank you, Gabbie!

Another yummy recipe from

MPDC's Kids' Garden Club

MPDC's Health Equity & Wellness Organizer Leslie Stafford continues to work with kids to promote healthy food at their tables. The Kids' Garden Club worked all summer growing vegetables and herbs from home. Now, the Kids' are working on a cookbook highlighting their healthy recipes. This month, Leonard (LJ) created a recipe for his favorite vegetable, Brussels sprouts with garlic. LJ has been a gardener from the Kids' Garden Club for over two years and has taken his skills to the kitchen. Stay Tuned for more recipes from the Kids' Garden Club!

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts

1 cup of Brussel Sprouts

2 teaspoons of olive oil

1 clove of garlic

A small sliced onion sliced

1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon of water

Sautee together in a skillet until golden brown.

To sign up for this year's Kids' Garden Club, please contact Leslie Stafford / 617.849.6231.

Spreading holiday cheer at

The Dewitt Center

The Dewitt Center would like to thank Cheryl Jean of the Lower Roxbury Coalition at Whitter Street Health Center for choosing The Dewitt Center to be a recipient of their first-ever holiday giveaway! The Dewitt Center was one of many organizations awarded five gift cards for distribution. The Dewitt Center gifted them to teen members to brighten their holiday season. Thank you for making the holidays special for our youth!

Updates from MPDC's Real Estate Team

The construction of 2451 Washington Street is nearing completion and the Certificate of Occupancy is expected to be received by the end of the month. Once the Certificate of Occupancy is granted, closings will be scheduled for eight of the nine market-rate units under Purchase and Sale Agreements. MPDC is working on getting the seven affordable units under reservation and into the pre-approval process for the ONE+ Boston program, which provides low-interest financing and down payment assistance from the City.

Progress is being made at 75 Dudley Street, which is currently in pre-development, and construction is expected to begin in Spring 2021.

Haynes House residents have moved back into their fully renovated units while MPDC and the construction team wrap up exterior work on the site. The achievement of reaching our deadlines despite a 2+ month COVID-19 construction moratorium is a testament to the capable work of General Contractor Dellbrook JKS, Davis Square Architects, Nat Hailey, Judy Cohn Relocation, and WinnResidential. By early 2021, passersby will see new Haynes House signage, landscaping improvements, and a custom-designed fence highlighting Roxbury's Haynes family's achievements. This project could not have been possible without the ongoing feedback and participation of our residents!

2020 Garden reflections from

Ms. Regina Clay

I want to tell the world why the Hope Community Garden is one of my favorite spaces in Boston. This Garden is a perfect community space. At least seven bus routes pass this little hidden treasure in Roxbury between the O'Bryant Exam School and the Roxbury Post Office every day. The Hope Community Garden is truly a space of expectation and a belief in tomorrow. From the tilling of the land to our plants' harvesting, we anticipate a bountiful crop of healthy mustard greens, turnips, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, lettuce, celery, collards, cabbage, squash, strawberries, and a variety of herbs. We create for our tables and share our produce with the tables of others. Gardening at Hope helps us to appreciate food and its value better. Being able to play in the mud, planting, replanting, pruning, and watching those plants grow is an accomplishment, especially for our eager and curious kid gardeners.

As an informal group, we come together to get our hands dirty in the soil as we build community spirit. The Hope Community Garden provides natural relief from anxiety and hopelessness, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a place of peace, relaxation, joy, and laughter and a place of bonding with a diverse population of folks from across the world. The Garden is a space for continuous learning. We learn from each other, and we are given opportunities to take classes and attend annual gardening events. The Hope Community Garden is about the future.

Warren Street and Malcolm X Boulevard Survey

The City of Boston has been working with residents on a new street design for Warren Street to help buses move faster, more reliably, and make the street work more safely for those living and traveling along it. Additionally, there have been some concerns about Malcolm X Boulevard and the City wants to hear directly from you about how you use the street now and how you want to be able to use it in the future. Answering these questions will help the Boston Cyclists Union and LivableStreets Alliance help elevate your voice to the City of Boston to make sure YOU are heard.

TAKE THE SURVEY HERE

Congratulations, Sandra Sierra!

MPDC is excited to announce that Sandra Sierra has been promoted from her role as Opportunity Employment Program Coordinator to the Opportunity Employment Program Manager.

The Opportunity Employment Program Manager is responsible for the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. A primary goal of OEP is to help participants complete their HiSET credential through free HiSet instructional classes to individuals ages 17 to 24 while providing supports in workforce development, mentoring, mental health referrals, and community mobilization around the prevention of gun and other community violence.

Sandra brings over ten years of relevant professional working experience providing successful workforce development programs, career coaching while supporting and connecting clients with a wide range of community resources. In her previous positions at Project Hope and the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, she has several years of management experience supervising staff, managing program budgets, monitoring city contracts, partnership development, and overseeing outreach and recruitment initiatives.

Sandra is excited to work with the team to increase opportunities for out of school youth and removing barriers to employment and education.

Congratulations, Sandra!

MPDC residents EatWell

In December, MPDC completed our final distribution of EatWell Meal Kits for 2020. For eight Fridays, staff & volunteers were stationed at The Dewitt Center, where registered families could pick up a healthy meal kit. Meal kits were also distributed to other MPDC sites throughout Roxbury. Participants were able to make barbeque chicken pasta, chili, and vegetable fried rice. We have been able to serve 100 families consistently over eight weeks. Thank you to the Boston Resiliency Fund for providing us with funding to serve our families consistently!

Thank you to our 2020

Funders & Supporters!

MPDC couldn't do its work without our funders & supporters! From helping us grow existing programs, like our Workforce Diversity & Development Initiatives, to implementing needed new initiatives in response to COVID-19, their support was more critical than ever this year.

MPDC Staff Spotlight:

5 Questions with Dwayne Watts

As a way for our community to learn more about our staff members, we have started the '5 Questions' series. These monthly interviews in our newsletters feature five random questions with an MPDC staff member.

This month we are chatting with MPDC's Resident & Community Engagement Manager, Dwayne Watts.

1. What is your role as the Resident and Community Engagement Manager at MPDC?

D: I develop leadership among residents living in MPDC properties and provide First Time Homebuyers training for MPDC residents.

2. What are some MPDC projects that you are excited about?

D: I am excited about the First Time Homebuying Program. I am also invigorated by the Get Out the Vote initiative to help residents engage in the political process.

3. Where is your favorite place to visit in Roxbury?

D: I love Nubian Square. I grew up here. I love everyone around the Square. I love the energy from the small business like Black Market, Dudley Café, and Haley House. I love the development of affordable and market-rate housing. I love being part of the transformation!

4. What do you like to do in your spare time?

D: I really enjoy playing video games.

5. What do you hope for the future of Roxbury?

D: I hope the residents continue to reclaim Roxbury and continue to participate in its growth.