A message from our Executive Director....

Don't Delay

In 1976, a prescription was written for us to heal the disease that we know as hate. The doctor who wrote the script went by the name of Stevie Wonder; his prescription can be found on the album Songs in the Key of Life in the song “Love’s In Need”. 

Love's in need of love today

Don't delay

Send yours in right away

Hate's goin' 'round

Breaking many hearts

Stop it please

Before it's gone too far

Many will say that this sentiment is naïve of me to offer, others will say it’s an oversimplification or cliché. Honestly, I see it as being the best course of action given that it's never been attempted at a large scale. I’m asking that instead of offering an opinion in this moment, we instead offer love and support to one another. This is an urgent matter, don’t delay, please do it right away. 

Elijah Wheeler

We're excited to be supporting Racial Justice Now! in presenting a series of Town Halls addressing the School-to-Prison Pipeline for Black Students in MCPS. Town Halls are planned for Nov. 4 from 1-3pm at Bohrer Park Rec Center in Gaithersburg and Nov. 18 from 1-3pm at White Oak Middle School in Silver Spring. Please share this info with your networks and REGISTER HERE for the Nov. 4 Town Hall.

WE'RE HIRING!

Community Organizer

This position is closing soon - please share with your networks and encourage anyone who is interested in this position to submit their application this week!

The Collaboration Council's Community Organizer will work with our staff to build relationships with youth leaders, parents and families, local community partners, county government, and service providers to plan and develop an innovative, community-driven approach to our triennial Community Needs Assessment and all future assessments. This person will help ensure that all relationships built with community in service of the needs assessment continue to be nurtured and sustained. The Community Organizer will work with Collaboration Council staff and partners to amplify the voices of those most often marginalized and left out of decision-making and implement strategies to ensure that future programs and initiatives are rooted in community strength and power.

Download the job description for more details and how to apply.



FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

OPEN SOLICITATION:

Under 21 Substance Use Mini-grants

Application deadline: November 13, 2023

Funded by Montgomery County Government, the overall purpose of the mini-grants is to support underage and illicit substance use prevention activities throughout Montgomery County. Funds must be used to provide primary prevention activities to youth and young adults under 21 at risk for substance use and misuse. The mini-grants are intended to be combined with other local funds for community-based substance use prevention activities for youth under the age of 21.

See the full Open Solicitation on Submittable for more details and how to apply.

OPEN SOLICITATION:

Community Justice Co-Creation Initiative

Submissions reviewed and co-creators selected on a rolling basis.

Montgomery County is dedicated to advancing community-led planning in collaboration with local government. This shift aims to empower frontline community members to identify fundamental issues and develop comprehensive solutions to promote racial equity, health, high quality of life, and inclusive climate resilience. Utilizing as their guiding framework the Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership developed by Facilitating Power, the Montgomery County government and the Montgomery County Collaboration Council are organizing a space for the community to create new norms, attitudes, practices, and processes so that impacted communities are adequately supported and positioned to co-define the problems affecting them and co-design solutions for long-term viability.

The Community Justice Co-Creation Initiative presents an opportunity for community-driven empowerment toward practical solutions. Its vision is to establish an anti-racist, climate-resilient region where every individual not only survives, but thrives. Community-based organizations and community leaders will receive compensation for their expertise as co-creators and co-learners of the process. This commitment extends throughout the fiscal year until June 2024, with a flexible timeline guided by the pace of trust-building.

See the full Open Solicitation on Submittable for more details and how to apply.

Advancing Youth Development Training - REGISTER TODAY!

A few spots are still available for our upcoming Advancing Youth Development (AYD) Training on Nov. 14-17. This nationally recognized training is an intensive 4-day professional development opportunity for community youth workers in Montgomery County who work directly with youth ages 10 to 24 in school, community, or faith-based settings.

Learn more and register at collaborationcouncil.org/AYD-training

We will offer in-person AYD Training again on Feb. 20-23 and May 21-24, with a virtual training also offered in the spring (dates TBD).

Road to Recovery talks to MoCo ReConnect's Aden Drolsum

Aden Drolsum, LMSW, Sheppard Pratt Program Manager at MoCo ReConnect, was recently featured on Road to Recovery hosted by James Sutton, which airs on MMC Channel 16. You can watch the episode here.

Aden talked about the programs and services offered at MoCo ReConnect, which is our drop-in center in Wheaton for young people ages 16-24. MoCo ReConnect was founded and is funded by the Collaboration Council and is run in partnership with LAYC and Sheppard Pratt.

Our MoCo ReConnect Drop-in Center is seeking donations of new and gently used clothing for young people ages 16-24. Specific needs include women's clothing in sizes small, medium and large and men's clothing in all sizes. Visit mocoreconnect.org/clothingdrive to schedule a time to drop off your donation.

New and Improved infoMONTGOMERY.org

We recently launched a redesigned infoMONTGOMERY, which is a searchable database of thousands of programs and resources in Montgomery County. Visit infoMONTGOMERY.org to take a look, and keep an eye out for more improvements in the coming months.

If your agency or program listing needs updates, if you have a new program to add, or you have any feedback about the site, email Amy Southerland at amy.southerland@collaborationcouncil.org

Welcome, Sydney!

We're excited to welcome Sydney Wilson-Hunter (she/her) as our new Director of Out-of-School Time (OST) Programs. Sydney is a macro social worker with over 10 years of youth development experience, with a focus on OST and summer camp programming. As a Phoenix native, she completed a bachelor's in social work at Arizona State University before venturing to the DC metro area to receive a master's in social work from Howard University. Her passion for youth development was sparked by her own positive OST experiences as a child and she is ecstatic to join the Collaboration Council family and support the great work being done in the county.

Sydney is also a birth doula and certified childbirth educator, supporting families through their pregnancy and early parenthood journey. When she's not working in the community, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, jigsaw puzzles and Boston Celtics basketball. 

Karina Funes-Oviedo, our program coordinator for The Basics, attended the The Basics Learning Network Annual Conference in Greensboro, NC, on Oct. 23-24, where she had the opportunity to meet Dr. Ron Ferguson, Founder and President of the Basics Learning Network.

Click the logos to visit our program websites: