This summer, Indego, the Better Bike Share Partnership, and the City of Philadelphia provided six organizations with mini-grants of $1,000 to support their general operations and programming. The recipients were based throughout Indego’s service area and worked with people of all ages to provide free resources, host trainings, and more. Keep reading to learn more about these organizations, their amazing work in the community, and how they utilized the Indego grant funding.

Heritage Community Development Corporation

Heritage Community Development Corporation is a nonprofit that serves the community around Amos Playground in North Philadelphia with a variety of resources including after-school programs, youth employment, and entrepreneurial support. Heritage CDC used its Indego mini-grant to furnish a multipurpose computer lab. This space will support local students in their studies and completing assignments, offer computer literacy classes to the wider community, and provide business support, such as printing resumes and hosting virtual meetings.

Greener Partners

Greener Partners is a nonprofit that uses locally grown food to transform community health. With the Indego mini-grant, Greener Partners was able to support their Summer Urban Farming Teen Internship in West Philadelphia by organizing site visits to urban farms and farmers’ markets, offering ServSafe Food training, and providing supplies for cooking lessons. At the urban farm site visits, the interns learned about farm work from operating garden equipment to selling produce and planting fall crops. Greener Partners also invited Indego and Safe Routes Philly to present to their interns on transportation safety!

African Family Health Organization (AFAHO)

AFAHO is a nonprofit in West Philadelphia that provides families with programming that emphasizes the importance of community health and well-being. The Indego mini-grant supported a field day event for their African Youth Empowerment Program (AYEP), with the primary goal of showing the youth in their community free and low-cost recreational opportunities that they can enjoy locally. The field day had 50 participants who engaged in various sports activities, socialized with peers, and developed teamwork skills.

Books Before Boys

Books Before Boys is a nonprofit organization founded by a mother-daughter duo who believes that instilling a love for learning and supporting academic success is the key to empowering young girls in Philadelphia. The Indego mini-grant supported a back-to-school book bag drive to support 50 students with the school supplies they needed to start the school year on the right foot. Seeking to be inclusive and supportive of the entire community, there were no gender or age restrictions to receive school supplies and participate in the event.

Columbia North YMCA

Columbia North YMCA is located at 1400 North Broad Street and is a community fitness center for family-friendly activities, with an overarching mission to connect the community to a healthier life. Columbia North YMCA applied for the Indego mini-grant to support their first-ever Leaderboard Competition for weightlifting. The event was a success and helped foster community building at the Y by supporting mutual fitness goals and friendly competition among participants.

Community Integrated Services (CIS)

Community Integrated Services (CIS) is a nonprofit formed in 1991 to support people with disabilities in finding meaningful employment in Philadelphia. The Indego mini-grant supported CIS’s ability to support high schoolers with disabilities by connecting them to a suite of vital supports and services that will help them achieve success once they graduate. Students also received practical job-readiness training including resume development assistance, identifying careers of interest, and engaging in mock interviews. CIS also invited Indego and Safe Routes Philly to present to their students on bicycle safety and using Indego to commute.

The City of Philadelphia, Indego, and the Better Bike Share Partnership would like to thank these organizations for their work to serve and engage the people of Philadelphia. The Indego mini-grant program runs twice a year, with applications opening in the spring and fall.