THE BACKGROUND:

This summer, we teamed up with the Friends of Cabral Park and an iProv Fellow from Brown University to start a program called Produce in the Park (PIP). Many people in the Fox Point neighborhood (where Cabral Park is located) experience food insecurity, and this problem was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Friends at Cabral Park came to P3 with an idea to bring produce to their park…

300+

total program participants

4,000+

total produce shares delivered

PIP IN ACTION:

P3 purchased produce from local farmers, and sold pre-packaged bags of produce (called shares) at various price-points through a market share model at Cabral Park. Anyone could sign up, and the more people who signed up to pay full-price for their shares, meant that those who could not afford full-price could pay for their shares at a reduced cost (and using SNAP payment!) Overall, PIP made fresh, local produce affordable and available for those who didn’t feel comfortable going to a grocery store during COVID-19. Our summer season was so successful that we expanded to a second park in Fall 2020!

THE BACKGROUND:

We know we’re capable of great work when we come together, but the pandemic made it unsafe to get together in-person. With a lack of programming and a transition to virtual school, many households didn’t have access to the typical activities that offered opportunities to play and create. This meant that we had to pivot our programming to be able to truly reach people. We worked with several of our partners to create and rollout a series of fun, take-home engagement kits, inspired by the themes we explore with traditional, in-person programs.

5,000+

Engagement Kits Distributed in Summer 2020*

*data as of 3/15/21

KITS IN ACTION:

P3 collaborated with local organizations to create kits that were distributed at schools and recreation centers beginning in July 2020. To date, we’ve developed art kits, sport & play kits, mask kits, and nature kits. Every kit is different, but each one usually comes with a few items that youth can personalize, some things they can play with, and some information to spark further exploration. Each kit is produced in English and Spanish in an effort to make them as accessible as possible for all youth in PVD.

THE BACKGROUND:

During Summer 2020, the City of Providence’s Parks Department hired a group of teens to serve as Play Ambassadors in Parks throughout the city. These staff members made sure that park fun continued safely - that everyone at the park was abiding by COVID-19 safety guidelines. As Summer turned to Fall, we ran with this idea and hired a group of Youth Safety Ambassadors (SAs) with the City of Providence’s Department of Art, Culture, & Tourism, so that they could continue to work at parks and outside of nearby rec centers to encourage adherence to COVID-19 safety guidelines.

YOUTH SAFETY AMBASSADORS IN ACTION

As we advanced into Fall, COVID-19 cases began to rise in PVD, and it was no longer safe for Safety Ambassadors to work in-person. They pivoted to virtual work, where they created COVID-19 safety content (like posters, flyers, and TikToks) in accordance with information provided by the Rhode Island Department of Health. This content, which was shared at public schools throughout PVD and online via P3’s social media channels, met youth where they are - in an effort to remind them to stay safe and do what they can to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

THE BACKGROUND:

Providence is home to 26 Little Free Libraries, or LFLs. LFLs are awesome, free neighborhood resources that allow anyone to take and/or leave a book. In Summer 2020, P3 began an initiative to diversify the books in our city’s LFLs - specifically focusing on curating a collection of books that were written by authors of color, that featured characters of color, or were written in any of the non-English languages spoken throughout Providence.

130+

books written by authors of color, featuring diverse characters, or written in languages other than English purchased by P3 in 2020

DIVERSE BOOKS IN ACTION:

With donations from the Providence Board of Realtors and Cricket Wireless New England, we organized a collection of books that celebrated racial and ethnic diversity. Most LFLs across the city were closed due to COVID-19, so we pioneered a program called ‘Boxes of Books’. For this initiative, the Parks Departments’ Play Ambassadors brought boxes of books to park sites around the city, and read to youth at their request. When all PVD Little Free Libraries reopen, we’ll fill them with our new collection of books so that all kids across Providence can see themselves in the stories they read!