Upsilon II Projects: A Glorious Mosaic

They may call themselves the Crazy Eights, but this fun-loving Upsilon II Leadership-in-Action team also knows how to get down to business.

They some took time to discuss how best to respond to this year’s theme: “Light the Way to Well-Being.” Then, on Basic Needs session day in May, everything fell into place, says Nancy Bianchi, director of communications and human relations at Lockheed Architectural Solutions.

“We all felt strongly that a person’s sense of dignity, independence, agency, and self-esteem were important components of well-being, which connected seamlessly to our interest in supporting Amenity Aid’s mission to help people in emergency shelters and temporary housing facilities, and other direct service agencies that assist vulnerable populations in Rhode Island,” Bianchi wrote in the Crazy Eights’ final report.

One month after reaching consensus, the team launched a Summer Essentials Drive with the goal of gathering a minimum of 1,200 specific hygiene products for distribution by Amenity Aid. Collecting shampoo and conditioner products was the emphasis for June; menstrual pads and tampons for July, and toothpaste and toothbrushes in August.

The Crazy Eights hauled in more than 7000 basic hygiene products, six times more than their goal, along with about $4000 in contributions for Amenity Aid.

Team members were free to take their own approaches to encourage contributions of products or money. Dawn Apagee, president of City Personnel, a staffing agency, used social media contacts to spread awareness about period poverty and its impact. David Ferreira received a $2,500 contribution from the Charitable Foundation of Bristol County Savings Bank, where he is vice president/small business manager, and Jessica Barry, senior director of donor relations for United Way RI, arranged a $1000 donation to Amenity Aid’s annual fundraising event. Bianchi used Facebook to seek donations in lieu of gifts for her birthday and raised more than $300.

Although the Crazy Eights’ project was completed long before the Upsilon II graduation in October, their involvement with Amenity Aid lives on. Kiley Krafve, an engineer at Amgen, served on the organization’s event committee to help plan its annual Benefit and Raffle Spectacular, and the entire team attended the fundraiser in September. They have also participated in a packing party at Amenity Aid headquarters.

The other LIA teams, each with their own missions, went in many different directions to address well-being.

Before deciding on a specific activity, the teams wrestled with the very notion of “well-being” — how to define it, how to detect its presence, how to bolster it. Those discussions led to a widening of the lens to include a variety of subjects and issues, from mental health and physical wellness to accessibility and inclusion.

The backgrounds and experiences of team members contributed mightily to how each group eventually chose to interpret well-being, says Lyanh Ramirez, LRI’s leadership development manager. The ambiguous parameters, in a way, freed the Upsilon IIs to venture into a variety of unexpected arenas.

The result was “an amazing array of projects,” says Jane Nugent, 1995 Omicron, LIA project advisor, “underscored by the number of public, private and nonprofit partners engaged, the focus on both statewide and local neighborhood impacts, and projects which crossed the age range.

“Taken together, all ten projects constitute a glorious mosaic of community building effort from the Upsilon lls.”

A summary of the nine other LIA projects:

Raices Dual Language Academy in Central Falls has newly painted blacktops, bench seating and cubbies, and a new school logo. The team had a day of service on October 23rd to work on revitalizing the outdoor space and had help from Hasbro and Dimeo Construction.

Calcutt Middle School, also in Central Falls, has a newly established wellness/wellbeing resource book for teachers and staff. The LIA team surveyed the teachers asking about what type of support they needed. The team created a wellness guide, which is posted on the school’s website and is now being supported by the Central Falls IT Department.

Toll Gate High School in Warwick now has 24 peer mentors, onboarded through Mentor RI’s mentorship training and a scholarship fund for future mentors has been established. This LIA team raised $3000 to cover costs of the initial program, raised another $500 to be given to a graduating senior peer mentor and provided $1500 to Mentor Rhode Island for their ongoing programs.

The relaunched Olneyville Resilience Hub had a successful ribbon cutting event on September 14, with over 200 in attendance at the block party. The Hub is based in Olneyville and was an underutilized resource by local residents. This LIA team helped to revitalize and relaunch the Hub, which specializes in offering and identifying emergency resources to Olneyville residents.

The new PSA for the Washington County Coalition for Kids Greatest 8 initiative dropped across social media platforms with plans to be picked up by local news channels. This team partnered with (add)ventures to create the PSA which focuses on resources for parents with children 0-8 years of age.

The refreshed website for Real Access Motivates Progress unrolled around the time that the first R.A.M.P. Stamp of Approval was awarded to the Steel Yard, an industrial art center in Providence, for its accessible studios. This team partnered with Brave River Solutions on website design and helped to create the criteria for receiving a R.A.M.P. stamp, which indicates approval of accessibility to its facilities.

Higher Ground International partnered with one LIA team to determine what services could be offered or expanded through the agency. This LIA team surveyed participants from Higher Ground who identified two areas for development: Financial Literacy, Everyday English Usage. The team worked on creating a curriculum for each of these areas.

Urban Hikes is a project designed by one of the LIA teams to focus on the health benefits of walking and being outdoors. The team partnered with a variety of community organizations to sponsor 10 hikes over the course of the year. Hikes were held in urban, suburban and rural areas also focusing on accessibility through RIPTA transportation routes.

A mentorship framework is being established for Amos House, which will focus on the well-being of the staff. This LIA team focused on “caring for the caregiver” as its theme. The framework, which is in progress, will focus on personal and professional development opportunities for staff.