<div dir="ltr">Hi All, <div>Passing along this info - folks in DC area can attend in person and there is also a weblink to attend remotely - they ask you to rsvp.</div><div>Looks interesting!<div><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12.8px">-Patricia</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br><br>U.S. Forest Service International Programs Seminar Series presents:</div><div class="gmail_quote"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote">Rocking The Boat: Two Decades of Youth Empowerment, Community Engagement and River Revitalization in the South Bronx<div>
<p><font face="Calibri">by Adam Green, Founder and Executive Director, and Jasmine Benitez, alumna and Assistant Director of Public Programs</font>
<font face="Calibri">– Rocking the Boat</font></p><p>
<font face="Calibri">When: Thursday, May 24 from 12 – 1:30 pm(EST)</font> </p>
<p><font face="Calibri">Where: LACC Room of <a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=1+Thomas+Circle,+NW,+Suite+400&entry=gmail&source=g">1 Thomas Circle, NW, Suite 400</a> </font>
<br>
<font face="Calibri"> </font> <br>
<font face="Calibri">You can also join virtually: <a href="https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/937314573" target="_blank">
https://global.gotomeeting.<wbr>com/join/937314573</a> </font><br>
<font face="Calibri"> </font> <br>
<font face="Calibri">RSVP to Liza Paqueo (<a href="mailto:lvpaqueo@fs.fed.us" target="_blank">lvpaqueo@fs.fed.us</a>) </font><br>
<font face="Calibri">(Please feel free to forward this invitation to interested parties)</font>
</p>
<p><font face="Calibri">At the confluence of the Bronx River and the East River in New York City is Hunts Point, where Rocking the Boat has spent 20 years empowering young people from the surrounding communities through building wooden boats and using these
boats to research, restore, row, and sail on the Bronx River. </font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">Rocking the Boat is more than just an afterschool and summer experiential education program. A team of licensed social workers provide high school aged Youth Development Program participants and alumni with comprehensive social, emotional
support, academic, and post-secondary support, helping them map out a plan for developing and reaching long-term personal and professional goals. As a result, nearly 100% of its students graduate from high-school education on time (as compared to 33% in the
overall South Bronx) and 50% have received bachelor’s degrees (as compared to 11%). The larger community has also benefitted from Rocking the Boat through the organization’s suite of Public Programs that engage school and youth groups during the school day
and over the summer as well as families and community members through its free Saturday Community Rowing, Sailing, and Birding programs, resulting in a community more invested in the health of its citizens and its local river ecosystem.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">Revitalizing the Bronx River, an intensely urban waterway that has suffered from decades of neglect, is central to Rocking the Boat’s strategy of youth and community development. The watershed and the wetlands is home to a variety of
endemic wildlife and is a stopover site for many migratory birds, such as tree swallows and the red-necked phalarope. Bird and fish monitoring activities, water quality monitoring, and wetland creation and maintenance have been essential not just in improving
the health of the Bronx River ecosystem, but also in developing a deep appreciation and awareness of one of New York City’s most unique natural resources among the people who live along its banks. </font><span style="font-family:Calibri"> </span><wbr style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Calibri"> </span><wbr style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Calibri"> </span><wbr style="font-family:Calibri"><span style="font-family:Calibri"> </span></p><p>
<font face="Calibri">Located about 10 miles from Times Square, Hunts Point is both home to the largest food distribution center in the world but also the poorest zip code east of the Mississippi River. Not only do local communities not benefit from the bounty
of food that travels in and out of their neighborhoods, but the 15,000 daily truck trips have resulted in the worst air quality and highest childhood high asthma rates in New York City. More than a third of the local population is composed of school-age children,
many of who contend with health challenges as well as exposure to high crime and violence.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">The importance of the Rocking the Boat’s role in the South Bronx community is paramount—not just for its youth but for the health of the Bronx River ecosystem and the local population. What began as a small boatbuilding project with
a single volunteer is now a multifaceted organization that has served over 30,000 young people and community members, at a rate of over 4,000 per year.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">Join us on Thursday, May 24, 2018, at noon, for a presentation by Rocking the Boat Founder and Executive Director Adam Green and alumna and Assistant Director of Public Programs Jasmine Benitez. Together, they will describe Rocking
the Boat’s founding and growth over time and discuss how it has used the restoration, revitalization, and celebration of the Bronx River as a deeply powerful medium for youth and community development.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">For more information on Rocking the Boat, click here: <a href="http://rockingtheboat.org/" target="_blank">
http://rockingtheboat.org/</a> </font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">About our Speakers:</font> </p>
<p><font face="Calibri">Adam Green</font> <br>
<font face="Calibri">Adam started the volunteer project that would become Rocking the Boat in 1995 during a semester off from Vassar College. Influenced by his experience teaching kids about the Hudson River aboard the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, he developed
a program that used the process of building and using wooden boats as a way to educate and empower young people from underserved communities. He has received numerous awards and accolades for Rocking the Boat, including an Echoing Green Fellowship, a Union
Square Award for grassroots organizing, and a Manhattan Institute Social Entrepreneurship Award. Most recently, he was named one of 25 international 2014 CNN Heroes.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">Jasmine Benitez</font> <br>
<font face="Calibri">Jasmine was born and raised in the Bronx. She was first introduced to Rocking the Boat when her high school participated in an On-Water Classroom program during her sophomore year. Jasmine immediately joined Rocking the Boat's On-Water
Youth Development Program and spent much of the rest of her high school extracurricular time learning to row, research, and revitalize the Bronx River. She went on to pursue her Bachelor's degree in Psychology (with a minor in Environmental Studies) at St.
John's University and returned to work at Rocking the Boat during the summers as an On-Water Program Assistant. After graduation, Jasmine worked as the Volunteer Coordinator at the Bronx River Alliance before joining Rocking the Boat’s full time staff in
2015.</font></p>
<p><font face="Calibri">First GoToMeeting? Let's do a quick system check: <a href="https://link.gotomeeting.com/system-check" target="_blank">
https://link.gotomeeting.com/<wbr>system-check</a></font> <br>
<font face="Calibri">******************************<wbr>******************************<wbr>****************</font>
<br>
<font face="Calibri">For more information on US Forest Service International Programs, please visit :
<a href="http://www.fs.fed.us/about-agency/international-programs" target="_blank">http://www.fs.fed.us/about-<wbr>agency/international-programs</a></font></p></div><div><br></div>
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