22 Grassroots Projects in Black and Brown Communities Win Mobilize Grants from The Carrie Meek Foundation
Funding Boost From Instacart to Support Innovative Projects and Nutrition Security in the 2022 Meek Mobilize Grants Program
MIAMI – April 21, 2022 – The Carrie Meek Foundation, Inc., the private charity advancing Congresswoman Meek’s legacy to build civically engaged, well-resourced and resilient communities, announced 22 winners in the 2022 Meek Mobilize Grants Program. The inaugural grants support the best ideas, projects, programs and initiatives that activate residents in Opa-locka, Liberty City and Florida City around issues that matter to them. Instacart, a leading retail enablement platform, will support the Foundation’s investments with additional funding to combat nutrition insecurity and support innovative community development efforts. Anyone was eligible to apply for the grant opportunity, regardless of 501c3 status. The unique program aims to strengthen neighborhoods and unite residents behind critical quality of life causes impacting Miami-Dade’s Black and Brown communities.
“The Meek Mobilize Grants winners reflect our best: selfless residents who are committed to improving their community,” said Lucia Davis-Raiford, president and CEO of The Carrie Meek Foundation. “Many of them have created and led effective solutions to the ongoing social and economic issues our people have long-wanted addressed, and they’ve done it with little to no institutional funding. Our goal is to grow the capacity of these projects so they get access to networks, resources, and the community support needed to more effectively serve our residents.”
Winners, selected from 120 total submissions, include a hydroponic garden project that unites STEM education, community fridges and long-term access to fresh food; a support group for survivors who lost a sibling or parent to violence; a community canvassing effort to take social services directly to residents who need them; and a neighborhood watch program in Opa-locka that has already shown evidence of working in other parts of the county.
Selvin Mathew is an entrepreneur who learned of the Mobilize Grants program shortly after Congresswoman Carrie Meek passed away in late November 2021. He was inspired by her life of service and applied to the Foundation to do his part. His winning project “Supreme Community Cleanup” will activate youth to take pride in their community by pressure cleaning and picking up trash in public places around Opa-locka.
Instacart has partnered with The Carrie Meek Foundation to invest in Meek Mobilize Grants winners that are combating nutrition insecurity and supporting inventive community and youth development solutions in their neighborhoods. The company’s donation will provide a 50%
funding boost to a winner in each of the Opa-locka, Liberty City and Florida City communities, and Instacart gift cards will be provided to all of the 22 winning projects to support food and supply needs.
“We are inspired by the impact that each of the winners have made on their communities, and we’re incredibly proud to help support their work through our partnership with The Carrie Meek Foundation,” said Casey Aden-Wansbury, Vice President of Policy & Government Affairs at Instacart. “We’re committed to investing in local neighborhoods, including Black and Brown communities. Partnering with the Foundation helped us identify hyper-local organizations that leverage innovation and grassroots know-how to get residents healthy, nutritious food and inspire the next generation of Miami-Dade’s community builders.”
Winners will receive funding, as well as ongoing technical and capacity building support throughout the year, like sessions to learn from experts in community organizing, nonprofit management and grant writing. This year’s project winners launched their cohort experience during in-person orientations on March 30 and 31. In Florida City, the mayor, city commissioners and community supporters joined the reception to celebrate the winners.
“The energy these winners have already generated is exactly the collective community power we want to strengthen through this program,” said Matthew Beatty, vice president and COO at the Foundation. “So many of our residents value how they have stepped up in the gap where society’s broken systems couldn’t meet the need. These grants are only the beginning; it will take more momentum from funders, nonprofit organizations, corporate partners like Instacart and above all, neighborhood residents to ensure the success of these projects and the dedicated change-agents leading them.”
Meek Mobilize Grants are a first step in the Foundation’s commitment to strengthen neighborhoods from the inside, out, activating block-by-block connections between residents to build safer, healthier places to live in Miami-Dade. For more information about the program and to follow the winning projects, please visit CarrieMeekFoundation.org/Mobilize and follow @CarrieMeekFndn on Instagram.
Meet the 2022 Meek Mobilize Grants Winners
Florida City Winners:
Johnqueisha Sanders: $3,500 to support a mentorship program for teen mothers focused on self-confidence, mental health and the importance of education
Full Deliverance Ministries: $3,500 for an educational driver’s training program to prepare residents for gainful employment and business ownership in the transportation services industry
Community Coalition of South Dade, Inc.: $3,500 for engaging seniors to train and inspire the next generation of community leaders
Survivors Affected By Violence/The Jack Brown III Foundation: $3,500 for supporting youth who have experienced the loss of a sibling or parent to violence
SPROUT UP (Instacart Booster Grant Winner): $6,000 to address food insecurity via community-based hydroponic gardens and free community fridges
Greater St. Matthews Holiness Church: $3,500 to provide recreational, social, and educational activities for active seniors over 50
Mexican American Council: $4,000 to enhance college and career readiness services in high school for the children of farmworkers
Genesis Hopeful Haven: $5,000 for after school and summer enrichment programs for youth in foster care
Friends of South Florida Music: $3,500 to help fill the music education gap for children of various abilities up to age 7 in Florida City.
Center for Virtual and Community Advancement: $3,500 for their after school academic enrichment program infusing a STEAM curriculum
Noricia Talabert Dream Foundation: $2,500 to inspire and motivate young women to live a proactive life in the face of adversity
Liberty City Winners:
Belafonte TACOLCY Center (Instacart Booster Grant Winner): $7,500 to increase awareness of social services and bring them within reach of residents
Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida: $5,000 to support their Girl Scouts Community Troops program in Liberty City, which helps girls confront inequities they see in their community
Lagina Smith: $2,500 for a young adult enrichment program focused on the collegiate experience and career opportunities after earning a degree
Miami Workers Center: $5,000 to bring together 200 renters and provide resources to confront their housing challenges
Opa-locka Winners:
Hued Songs: $5,000 to engage residents in a musical performance & Kwanzaa celebration
Metro Mommy Agency: $2,500 to improve healthcare access/quality by providing culturally, socially and linguistically matched doula care to families
S.E.E.K Foundation (Instacart Booster Grant Winner): $3,750 to build an educational makerspace where the community can access high-tech equipment and encourage innovation
Teen Up-Ward Bound: $5,000 for community garden-based activities that incorporate math, language arts, science and other subjects
A1 Supreme Mobile Detailing LLC: $5,000 to mobilize youth to take pride in their community by providing pressure cleanings and trash pick ups around Opa-locka
Opa-locka: One Community, Many Voices: $3,000 to design and implement a resident-driven crime watch program
Project T.H.U.G.: $3,000 to support learning experiences that dismantle dominant male stereotypes for Black boys
About The Carrie Meek Foundation:
The Carrie Meek Foundation, Inc. is a private foundation whose mission is to advance Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek’s vision for civically engaged, well-resourced and resilient communities. We help improve the lives of residents in Miami-Dade County and the larger South Florida community through Education, Housing, Health, and Economic Development. Learn more about how we put her legacy in action at CarrieMeekFoundation.org.
About Instacart:
Instacart is a leading retail enablement platform that works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. Today, Instacart partners with more than 750 national, regional and local retail brands to facilitate online shopping, delivery and pickup services from more than 70,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Millions of busy people and families turn to Instacart to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and more than 600,000 Instacart shoppers pick, pack and deliver orders for customers on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power e-commerce, fulfillment, in-store, ads and insights for retailers across the U.S. and Canada. Hundreds of retailers partner with Instacart to power their e-commerce experiences across the Instacart App and their own white-label sites and solutions. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company, and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com. For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit shoppers.instacart.com.
