Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association

Exciting News for the Bronx!  After two years of bringing affordable financial services to the community with our People's Mobile Branch, we're proud to announce the opening of the Bronx People's Federal Credit Union physical branch at 941 Interval Avenue! Our journey began in 2021 with the support of the bronxfinancialaccess.nyc, and now, we're thrilled to offer even more services to Bronx residents, including: 🔑 Affordable Savings and Checking Account openings 💳 Instant Debit Card issuance 🔑 In-person Credit and Loan Applications 📑 ITIN Application Assistance 💼 Business Loan Interviews 🏧 24-hour ATM access While our new branch undergoes renovations, we’ll keep bringing our Mobile Branch to key spots in the Bronx and continue building together and supporting the economic development of the Bronx! Stay tuned for updates and the official branch launch! 🎉 Here is a sneak peek of the renovations happening at our future branch! #BronxCommunity #FinancialAccess #CommunityGrowth #MobileBranchToPhysical #BankingForAll #CooperativeFinance

As a community historian and someone who loves combining theory and practice in community organizing/development, I have to say my favorite of Harold DeRIenzo's books is his first. If you've never read "The Concept of Community: Lessons from the Bronx" (2008, IPOC Press), you can now download it for #free by signing up for Harry's newsletter at the link below. I'm planning to use this as one of our course texts for the Internship Seminar I'll be teaching again at Fordham University Urban Studies Program/Sociology this fall. (On a side note, if you and your org are open to taking on a student intern, please message me directly.) Here are some blurbs for "The Concept of Community": “Harry DeRienzo knows community and community organizing from the ground up. His extraordinary 30-year odyssey in community building chronicles everything from dodging a bullet on Kelly Street to helping neighbors empower themselves and fight City Hall. But what makes DeRienzo’s book unique is not merely its rich storytelling interwoven with solid scholarship, but the one central truth that shines through every paragraph: organizers must trust the people themselves to lead and build their own dreams.” - Hon. Fernando Ferrer, Bronx Borough President (1987-2001) “Harry DeRienzo’s book is a wonderful hands-on blend of theory, practice and community history woven together by an abridged autobiography of a truly special and dedicated community builder. The book is full of insightful and sometimes controversial, albeit important, observations about the interrelationship between community, race, the economy and our collective obligation to people and their communities. It is a must read for all.” - Ronald Shiffman, FACIP, New York City Planning Commissioner ( 1990-1996); Director, Pratt Center (1963-2003) “Harry DeRienzo bluntly and brilliantly weaves the history of the Bronx and New York City and his own ground breaking work into a clear and convincing account of what community development is and should be, and why we should care. In his life and now in print, he faces the hard questions honestly with amazing intellectual acumen, practical sense, and a mixture of nerve and humility.” - Dr. Susan Saegert, PhD, Professor of CUNY Graduate Center “This book may be unique in the nonprofit management literature in its concern for the importance of reinvigorating community for democracy in the United States. Although nonprofit management literature has increasingly focused on the need for professionalization and entrepreneurialism in the field, in many ways this book argues for the opposite: a reframing of the field going back to traditional notions of how voluntary institutions might contribute to community building and civic engagement.” - Dr. Angela Eikenberry, University of Omaha at Nebraska https://lnkd.in/e3T4BbgP

Grateful and proud to represent Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association on BronxNet Community Television's OPEN along with New York Community Trust. It was a concise and dynamic conversation about funding environmental and housing justice and equity work in the Bronx with NYCT's Shawn Morehead and OPEN's Kibin A. who is a fantastic host! https://lnkd.in/e4p6_UfM