Roots Rising ID3A Jam
March 6th, 5:30-7:30pm
Zion Lutheran Church
74 First Street, Pittsfield, MA
Roots Rising and Team R3SET are gathering community members from across Pittsfield to discuss how a Pittsfield-based Youth Farm can best serve the community.
About the Need
American teens are experiencing an extreme mental-health crisis. Over the last decade, the share of high school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 to 44 percent. This is the highest level of teenage sadness ever recorded.
And it’s not just teens. It’s been said that we’re living in an “Age of Loneliness.” Changes in technology, work and community have resulted in an epidemic of isolation and depression.
Just as our mental health needs are going unmet, our physical health is also in jeopardy. In Berkshire County, 12% of residents experience food insecurity, 27% of which are children. Food costs are up over 11%, putting healthy food even farther out of the reach of low-income community members.
How do we fight against loneliness? By fostering connection. Connection to ourselves, connection to each other, and connection to the land.
How do we fight against food insecurity? By building strong and resilient local food systems and making food available to all.
How do we cultivate connection while also building a vibrant and equitable food system? Roots Rising has one solution. Read below to find out more!
About The Project
Roots Rising is planning a Youth Farm! This farm will be an intersection of our food justice and youth development work, as well as a community hub and green oasis. Located in Pittsfield, the farm will be a material investment in our city and will reflect our commitment to building a healthy, equitable and resilient society.
The farm will tie together our three programs: our farm, farmers market, and Youth Crews will work together as a robust and comprehensive means of fulfilling our mission. The Youth Farm will also provide us with a home base from which to deepen our work. With the launch of the farm, Roots Rising will have put down roots where we truly belong—right in the heart of our city and community.
About The ID3A Jam
The Roots Rising ID3A Jam is a gathering and design thinking session between community members in Pittsfield to share ideas and feedback about a Pittsfield-based Youth Farm.
We want to know how we can best create a farm that serves the needs of the Berkshire Community.
We will be paying each participant $100 for their time.
If you want a place to network and meet with other community members who care about food security and farming, the Roots Rising ID3A Jam is for you.
Your ideas and solutions will have an impact.
We have spent more than a year listening and visioning with our Youth Crews. Now we are excited to engage the wider community in the process of co-creating this farm.
We’d love for you to dream with us—how can this Youth Farm best meet the needs of the Pittsfield community?
The Goals
Shared dreams: Identify the sweet spot where the community’s needs and our mission/ organizational capacity overlap.
Partnerships: Understand opportunities for community partnership.
Community perspectives: Identify how Roots Rising is perceived in the community.
Community needs: Identify the gaps in food and youth programming in Pittsfield
Who is this for?
Youth Crew alumni, parents of Pittsfield youth, farmers market shoppers and vendors, and current and potential program partners.
Community leaders who are interested in food security and supportive youth programming.
Berkshire County community members who want to be heard, share ideas, and make a difference that will positively impact you and the rest of Berkshire County.
About Roots Rising
What’s in it for you? Event Benefits
Networking with other businesses, organizations, policymakers, and community influencers.
Share ideas that will positively impact you and other Berkshire County Members.
Receive a $100 stipend for your time and energy.
Receive a report with recommendations for all community stakeholders that will energize new programs, services, investments, and resources.
Register Now
Meet the Facilitators
Dubois Thomas
Dubois Thomas has over 20 years of housing experience, getting his start with the management and support of low-income housing cooperatives across NYC. Since joining Central Berkshire Habitat for Humanity as Neighborhood Revitalization Director, Dubois has focused his energy on learning; overseeing multiple Pittsfield community surveys and community engagement events, whilst completing a leadership course at the Harvard Kennedy School. Dubois also dedicates his time to the development of the Blackshires, serving as its board president. The Blackshires aims to develop a more integrated and connected black community in the Berkshires by facilitating opportunities for a vibrant Black ownership ecology.
John Lewis
John Lewis focuses on “innovation in inclusive and community-based economics.” John has helped organizations like 1Berkshire, Berkshire United Way, Berkshire Bank, and the Blackshires Community Empowerment Foundation apply some of these new tools and strategies for the benefit of Berkshire County.
Leah Reed
Leah works for the Department of Developmental Services as a Service Coordinator. She is a Women of Color Giving Circle member in Berkshire County. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, the first Black Sorority ever founded, where “Excellence Through Sustainable Service” in your community is essential. She is also a member of the W.E.B. Du Bois Legacy Committee. As a proud legacy of a Tuskegee Airmen, Buffalo Soldier, daughter of a Prince Hall Mason, and the granddaughter of an Eastern Star, her passion has always been to uplift and empower others to advocate for themselves and see strength in their abilities.
Pj Danahey
Pj Danahey is the co-founder of Impact Hacker, a R3SET partner that provides business operating system upgrades and productivity expertise to entrepreneurs and their teams looking to make a bigger impact.
He is passionate about social innovation and the positive power that a business can offer communities. In service of that, he helped plan and develop the first series of ID3A jam events and the ID3A Jam product with R3SET.
He also works as a level one psia certified ski instructor at the nearby mountain resort, Jiminy Peak.
Julie Haagenson
Julie has spent her career working as an educator, counselor, consultant, and coach. She is owner of New Pathways Coaching & Consulting focusing on empowering adolescents, young adults, parents and educators. She also works in community engagement with the Center for Peace Through Culture working to cultivate community through the arts.. She serves on the boards of Flying Deer Nature Center and Blackshires and the steering committee for the 1Berkshire Youth Leadership Program. Her work for the last two decades has focused on creating meaningful partnerships and opportunities for people of all identities and backgrounds.
Our Sponsors
About Us
Roots Rising is an award-winning nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower youth and build community through food and farming. Our vision is to lift up teens as community changemakers and to strengthen the local food system through the transformational power of meaningful work.
Roots Rising has two main initiatives: our Youth Crews and our Pittsfield Farmers Market.
Learn more at RootsRising.org
The R3SET Agency is a local cooperative consulting company building tools and systems for community empowerment. R3SET Agency works with mission-driven organizations to apply strategies and tactics utilized by Silicon Valley start-ups for community and economic development.
R3SET Agency serves communities through the ID3A Jam Process, the El3VATE Platform, and customized consulting and coaching.
Learn more at R3SETAgency.com