We are still accepting applications for the program this summer, and have space for several more participants. However, the national application page has closed, so we are now running a separate application form. It is embedded in this post and also on the “Apply” tab of the website.
If you have been putting it off, or just heard about us, now is the time to send in the application!
If you have any questions you can email pioneervalleysolutions@gmail.com or call (413-489-1805).
Riders come up River Road in Sunderland
On Thursday, May 17th, six riders took part in the ‘Field to ‘Field Ride, to raise funds for Summer of Solutions Pioneer Valley. Starting out in Springfield, Mass. the ride snaked north along the Connecticut River. The riders- Leah, Rebecca, Amber, Jared, Jen and Martha, took in beautiful views of the river and surroundings, and also got a glimpse of the industrial background of the Valley.
The weather was beautiful (a change after a rainy ride last year!) and the splendor of the area was in full view.
Everyone was feeling so great we took a longer route between Northampton and Greenfield than planned- and ended up biking over 46 miles in total!
Ending in Greenfield, at Harvest Moon Farm, we were able to share plans about our work this summer. Sharing food together was the perfect end to a long, satisfying day.
Over 15 individuals sponsored the riders! It’s not too late to contribute to make stipends available to low-income, local youth this summer. You can still donate on the Summer of Solutions website. The ‘Field to ‘Field Ride was a resounding success, and we’re excited for many more bike rides in the Valley this summer!
Thanks to our riders, sponsors, and volunteer drivers (Evan and David!) for making it all possible!
We are happy to announce that we will be holding our second annual ‘Field to ‘Field Ride to benefit Summer of Solutions Pioneer Valley on May 17th.
On May 17th 2012, planners, participants and supporters of Summer of Solutions Pioneer Valley will be biking the Valley, south to north, to raise money for the program. Starting in Springfield, Mass. the riders will head north through Holyoke, Northampton, Deerfield and finally into Greenfield.
Follow this link to join us biking or sponsor the ride!
Applications are still open for Pioneer Valley Summer of Solutions, and the 15 other programs across the country. We are still looking for full and part-time participants in the Pioneer Valley, and need-based stipends are available for full-timers.
The next deadline is April 12th, so submit your application by then to be considered in this round. We will respond to these applications by April 30th.
Please follow this link to the application on the Grand Aspirations website.
Be sure to indicate Pioneer Valley as your preferred program. If you need a paper copy of the application, please contact us at pioneervalleysolutions@gmail.com.
Just weeks after our program ended last summer, the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts was hit by Hurricane Irene. Bad.
I was in North Carolina for the Grand Aspirations National Gathering as the storm worked its way up the East Coast. The GA crew was fine, albeit delayed in our travel plans. But when I got back to Franklin County, the home of program, I could see Irene had done serious damage. Turners Falls and Greenfield, the hubs of activity for Summer of Solutions, were spared the worst of it, but near-by neighbors in Shelburne Falls, Conway and many other small towns lost roads, homes, electricity, farm crops, animals and more. Seeing news footage of the main bridge being wiped out in Shelburne Falls was devastating. We had helped partner Co-op Power to weatherize several homes in this beautiful and tight-knit community.
A big lesson of 2011 for me has been that unprecedented weather in our rural river valley and the surrounding mountain towns is incredibly devastating. This lesson came in waves: first the tornado which struck Springfield and other towns south of us in June, causing massive damage, then the hurricane in August, and most recently with the surprise Halloween snowstorm, which dumped a foot of snow overnight and knocked out power for almost a week in many parts of the region. Narrow mountain roads aren’t built to withhold major flooding; aging bridges across the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers can’t handle 100 Year Floods every year. In an area which depends on agriculture, many small farmers had their worst season in years and lost thousands of dollars in crops.
While it has been a sobering year to the realities of climate change, I feel hopeful for what we are building in the Pioneer Valley. I also feel a new commitment to learning how to sustain ourselves and our communities in a changing climate. We will be at it again in 2012.
Pioneer Valley Summer of Solutions is based in Greenfield and Turners Falls, MA, two towns in western Massachusetts along the Connecticut River. These towns were rooted in manufacturing industries and are traditional crossing points for the surrounding communities, as far back as when the Pocumtuc tribe lived on the land.
SoS in 2012 will continue our farming and community education projects from 2011 and expand in new directions. In 2011 we helped start the Summer Workshop Series, hosted at the Brick House Community Resource Center in Turners, which was made up of dozens of free classes on topics from wood-working to self-defense to herbal medicine. We will continue this partnership with the Brick House, including the Snack Garden, which we planted and tended with Spanish-speaking neighbors kids in the Kids Gardening Class.
We also are continuing a fruitful partnership with Harvest Moon Farm, across the river in Greenfield. We started a “work-share” in 2011, helping with the Gwen and Eric’s crops in exchange for a quarter acre plot of our own. We’ll be expanding to grow more vegetables to sell, and expand options for Greenfield residents to eat healthy, affordable and local food and be a part of its production. We also will be using the Greenfield Community Kitchen to develop our own prepared food product.
As a program in a small, rural community (combined Greenfield and Turners are under 25,000 people) we face challenges and advantages. Living in the heart of amazing natural resources reminds me how we depend on them for everyday existence, and even in rural communities, access is lacking. Learning how to create prosperity in a community which has been abandoned by many commercial industries is more than a summer experience, but we’re lucky to work with a lot of other dedicated residents.
Myself (Martha Pskowski) and Erika Linenfelser are returning as second year program leaders, and we’re hiring new local leaders. Erika and I are both students at Hampshire College in near-by Amherst. I am excited to deepen my connections in this community and explore ways to make more self-sustaining options for youth in Franklin County, who often relocate to find opportunities. SoS is an exciting way to connect youth to older residents of the area to create a shared vision for the community. I also can’t wait for more harrowing bike rides on our narrow roads, and refreshing swims in the Connecticut River after work days. If you make it out to the Pioneer Valley, you’re sure to be charmed by our beautiful surroundings, and taken aback by the vitality of our local community.
Pioneer Valley has been accepted as a Summer of Solutions program from 2012! We’re excited for round 2 and are already contemplating ideas to make our program the best yet.
You can read about all the programs slated for 2012 (19!) in this great post on the Solutionaries blog.
I can’t help but show off the map:
Now that I have you all excited, there’s a simple ask that ends THIS TUESDAY. Please help us out!
Grand Aspirations is in the running for the Chase Community Giving competition right now. If we’re among the Top 100 vote-getters by Tuesday at noon we will win $25,000 for 2012 programs. This would go directly to stipends for the program leaders who make the vision of GA a reality. This competition is run through Facebook.
1. Click this link.
2. “Like” Chase Community Giving
3. Vote for Grand Aspirations to win $25k.
4. Post it on your Facebook and maybe tell a few friends about it.
While I have more than a few reservations about taking money from Chase, a major target of the Occupy Wall Street protests which I’ve been taking part in, I think the benefits outweigh the costs. Last year, we were the recipient of $50,000 from the Pepsi Corporation, through a similar online voting competition. This money allowed Summer of Solutions to expand in several meaningful ways. We could pay more low-income program leaders and leaders from the communities our programs are based in. We were able to provide a level of accountability like never before. And we didn’t need to plug Pepsi once! (We were much more likely to be drinking local Kombucha or People’s Pint (at non-program venues of course). )
There is a wealth (pun-intended) of writing on the perils of foundation funding. I’d suggest reading some excerpts from The Revolution will not be Funded by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence. The advantage of voting-based funding like Chase or Pepsi is Grand Aspirations continues to define it’s own mission, instead of bending to meet the criteria of a foundation focused on a certain issue. We don’t need to break our work down into statistics to prove we’re worth funding; the support of our communities is what counts to win. (That said, we received a grant from a really wonderful, community-focused foundation this year, the New England Grassroots Environment Fund, which is the exception to the rule of foundation funding!).
So please, take a minute, vote for Grand Aspirations, and stay tuned for more updates soon! Also share this link and story with anyone else you feel would support our work.
Thanks from the whole crew! 
We completed a one-page summary of our program this summer to use for documentation and promotion purposes. The link below goes to a PDF version (which you’re free to use and distribute if you like) and below that is the text of the document.
Summer of Solutions Pioneer Valley
Summer of Solutions Pioneer Valley (PVSoS) is a program in youth leadership and sustainable community development that equips participants to address social economic and environmental issues in their communities and creates tangible outcomes for the local community.
In an age of austerity youth are learning they have to create their own solutions and build sustainable, just livelihoods. Lead by youth for youth, Summer of Solutions takes into account both local needs and assets in its development of long-term projects.
Summer of Solutions Pioneer Valley has completed its first summer taking on these questions in the town of Turners Falls in Massachusetts. Drawing participants from around the area, ages 18 to 25, the program looked at the unique challenges of post-industrial rural towns and started to craft a vision for the future.
Working in close coordination with local organizations and individuals the programs pursued four main projects in 2011:
● Free community education: Partnering with the Brick House Community Resource Center in Turners, SoS PV and other community members organized and ran a Summer Workshop Series that was open and free of charge, to community members of all ages. Participants helped develop the program structure and helped to facilitate courses, including comparative religions, book making, wild edibles, stone wall masonry, gardening for children and many more.
● Sustainable agriculture: A cornerstone of PVSoS this summer was collaboration with a small local organic farm in Greenfield, Harvest Moon Farm, to grow our own produce and assist in planting, maintenance, harvest and marketing. SoS PV also made a Snack Garden at the Brick House and engaged local youth in its maintenance.
● Energy efficiency: Participants received professional training in air sealing and weatherization from Co-op Power, a Greenfield-based energy efficiency and renewable energy cooperative and weatherized two local buildings. Additionally SoS PV researched energy efficiency for renters in Franklin County, and began distribute of their factsheet on this sorely over-looked subject.
● Bicycle access: Participants developed skills to maintain their own bicycles, and fix bicycles that have been abandoned. A half dozen bikes have been repaired for community use and the creation of a local bike share program is in beginning stages.
Contact:
pioneervalleysolutions@gmail.com
413-489-1805
pioneervalleysolutions.org
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