Playground Youth Fundraiser
Tax deductible
Mission Statement
Playground Youth is a community-based organization operating out of Playground Coffee Shop in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. At Playground Youth, we support Bed-Stuy by ensuring a safe space to exchange art, cultural knowledge, and strategies. We tackle a range of community needs including literacy, food equity, and arts & culture through a range of accessible programs and events.
History
Playground Coffee Shop was founded by Zenat Begum in 2016 as a coffee shop and community space in Bed-Stuy. The space was previously Zenat’s family business that operated as a hardware store for 20 years. When Playground first opened, we had a zine rack which housed DIY, radical, and alternative literature which was then expanded into a bookstore in 2018 named Playground Annex. Also in 2018, we started our non-profit, Playground Youth to solidify our platform and be able to expand our programming in order to meet the needs of the community.
Initiatives
Operations
Playground Youth is looking to raise operational funds to maintain and expand our nonprofit staff. In the midst of COVID, Playground Youth’s staff was furloughed for four months and we have just restarted operations as of August 1.
We are also looking to cover rent, utilities, and other overhead operational costs for our physical space in order to support brown and black individuals, collectives, and organizations on the ground. For example, during the recent civil unrest, we were able to source and assemble 4,000 PPE kits for protestors on the frontlines. We've also held a number of pop-up BBQs to support other efforts such as Within Our Lifetime Palestine and the Future Farm Fund. Operational funds will also be used to fuel Playground Youth future programming and events.
Playground Expansion
- Basement Renovation for office and programing space
- Coffee Bar for Barista Trainings
- Kitchen Renovation
- Storage Space for Playground Youth Initiatives
Playground Community Fridge Initiative
The Playground Community Fridge Initiative is committed to bringing free and fresh produce daily to Bed-Stuy in direct protest to food insecurity. The Community Fridge Initiative is part of Playground’s food equity programming dedicated to making food healthy and accessible.
Playground Take One, Leave One Library
Inspired by Playground Annex, the mission of the Take One, Leave One Free Library initiative is to provide free, thoughtful, and radical books by Black, Indigenous, Brown, POC, and LGBTQI+ authors to our community. The premise of taking a book and leaving one is an act of care, sharing stories, spreading resources, and amplification of voices that may have been overlooked. Through the library, we want to increase awareness around a myriad of topics and encourage the joy of reading.
Playground Radio
Playground Radio is our online radio platform. We are an independent internet radio station serving as an open-access platform. We are intentional in our efforts to create an environment tailored to sharing space for artists within our community.We cultivate a dynamic range of original programming in partnership with all of our collaborators. In this abundant era of digital existence, Playground Radio acts as a digital archive of sorts, recording, collecting, and memorializing the stories of our community.
Playground Youth is a community-based organization operating out of Playground Coffee Shop in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. At Playground Youth, we support Bed-Stuy by ensuring a safe space to exchange art, cultural knowledge, and strategies. We tackle a range of community needs including literacy, food equity, and arts & culture through a range of accessible programs and events.
History
Playground Coffee Shop was founded by Zenat Begum in 2016 as a coffee shop and community space in Bed-Stuy. The space was previously Zenat’s family business that operated as a hardware store for 20 years. When Playground first opened, we had a zine rack which housed DIY, radical, and alternative literature which was then expanded into a bookstore in 2018 named Playground Annex. Also in 2018, we started our non-profit, Playground Youth to solidify our platform and be able to expand our programming in order to meet the needs of the community.
Initiatives
Operations
Playground Youth is looking to raise operational funds to maintain and expand our nonprofit staff. In the midst of COVID, Playground Youth’s staff was furloughed for four months and we have just restarted operations as of August 1.
We are also looking to cover rent, utilities, and other overhead operational costs for our physical space in order to support brown and black individuals, collectives, and organizations on the ground. For example, during the recent civil unrest, we were able to source and assemble 4,000 PPE kits for protestors on the frontlines. We've also held a number of pop-up BBQs to support other efforts such as Within Our Lifetime Palestine and the Future Farm Fund. Operational funds will also be used to fuel Playground Youth future programming and events.
Playground Expansion
- Basement Renovation for office and programing space
- Coffee Bar for Barista Trainings
- Kitchen Renovation
- Storage Space for Playground Youth Initiatives
Playground Community Fridge Initiative
The Playground Community Fridge Initiative is committed to bringing free and fresh produce daily to Bed-Stuy in direct protest to food insecurity. The Community Fridge Initiative is part of Playground’s food equity programming dedicated to making food healthy and accessible.
Playground Take One, Leave One Library
Inspired by Playground Annex, the mission of the Take One, Leave One Free Library initiative is to provide free, thoughtful, and radical books by Black, Indigenous, Brown, POC, and LGBTQI+ authors to our community. The premise of taking a book and leaving one is an act of care, sharing stories, spreading resources, and amplification of voices that may have been overlooked. Through the library, we want to increase awareness around a myriad of topics and encourage the joy of reading.
Playground Radio
Playground Radio is our online radio platform. We are an independent internet radio station serving as an open-access platform. We are intentional in our efforts to create an environment tailored to sharing space for artists within our community.We cultivate a dynamic range of original programming in partnership with all of our collaborators. In this abundant era of digital existence, Playground Radio acts as a digital archive of sorts, recording, collecting, and memorializing the stories of our community.
Organizer
Zenat Begum
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
Playground Youth Inc
Beneficiary