June 2025 Common Ground Newsletter

June 2025 Newsletter

Tickets are on sale for “Farming While Black” movie and mental health discussion

A special showing of a new documentary on Black farmers and food freedom will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 10, at the Little Theatre, 240 East Ave., Rochester. After the film, there will be a panel talk titled “Cultivating Wellness: Mental Health Support Through Farming and Gardening.”

“Farming While Black: Reclaiming Land and Agricultural Heritage” tells the story of young Black farmers working to take back land and connect with their roots.

Tickets are $5 and are available at https://bit.ly/farmscreen. This screening is presented by Rochester Food Policy Council and Rochester Black Nurses Association.

New mural painted outside the Phillis Wheatley Library in Rochester

With deliberate brushstrokes, 11-year-old Abdiasis Abdi applied blue paint to the sidewalk outside the Phillis Wheatley Community Library Saturday, June 21. Abdi was one of the helpers following artist Chloe Smith’s guidance to paint a new Story Walk to replace the faded and chipped library mural.

This was the first time he had the chance to paint this sidewalk, he said with pride.

The project was coordinated by Healthi Kids and funded in part by the NYS Department of Health Creating Healthy Schools and Communities grant, the Rochester Public Library and ESL Charitable Foundations.

Read more.

“We cannot continue to fight these battles separately; we need to join as one and fight for justice for all. And we can only do that by loving one another and accepting that generations are different and not separate. We should be learning from one another to make our community and the world a healthier place.” - Jackie Dozier, director of Community Health and Well-Being for Common Ground Health, upon accepting the Peacemaker award from The Center for Teen Empowerment on May 7.

Partner spotlight: Black Giving Collective

The foundation notes that 40% of grant proposals came from organizations that hadn’t received Community Foundation grants.

“We applaud the individuals who have chosen to pool resources to uplift the Black community in our region,” said Wade Norwood, co-CEO of Common Ground Health. “These grants will help create meaningful change.”

See the recipients.

Educators, practitioners, and play advocates, mark your calendars for the third annual Playful Learning Summit on August 20. This event will celebrate the power of play and movement in learning, and explore how joyful, creative environments support children’s growth, achievement, and well-being. Register now. 

In the headlines

WXXI News Connections: The right to recess

WDKX Wake Up Club: Emotional Emancipation Circles

WROC-TV As New York sees historic decrease in drug-related deaths, concerns rise on possible federal cuts

WDKX Wake Up Club: Love from the Start

Poder Love from the Start
 

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