1. HOW WE ORGANIZE:
A PREVIEW INTO THE WORK YOUNG COMMUNITY
ORGANIZERS ARE DOING THROUGHOUT NEW YORK
CITY.
NEW YORK FOUNDATION SUMMER INTERNSHIP IN
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING PROGRAM 2016

2. IT’s important that we care for
our communities, AMPLIFY our
voices, and make ourselves be
heard.
This zine is a taste of our
electricity and a chorus of our
voices.
Editor: Samaya Abdus-Salaam
Layout: Kenny Polyak
Contributing Interns:
Selvia Sikder
Nizum Barua
Yennifer Muriel
Special thanks to new york foundation

3. AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Marcela Piños, an intern with Community Action for
Safe Apartments, and Aboubacar Okeke-Diagne,
an intern with Bridge Street Development Corporation,
helped plan block parties for community engagement
around affordable housing.
What happens after action?
Lena Cohen, an
intern at Riders
Alliance, helping with
a photo campaign
to raise awareness
about fare increases
affecting low-income
riders.
Riders Alliance members hold a strategy meeting for their
#fairfares campaign.
“The story of who we are, how far we have come, and how far
we still have to go - all these parts of our past are prologue to the
moment we are in.”
- Darren Walker, President of Ford Foundation
‘A New Testament of Hope’, medium.com/human-parts

4. NIZUM
&
SELVIA
OUR INTERNSHIP SO
FAR….
Writing grant
proposals
Creating flyers,
making changes to our
website to be able to
communicate better
with people and keep
them updated with our
projects and services
Working on projects to
develop and organize
our community
Helping our community
residents/immigrants
by providing them
with the social
services that they
need
Promoting our
organization &
making changes to
improve it each day
We feel so proud to be a
part of BACDYS (our org)
and to be able to support
such organization, it
truly has been an
amazing experience for
us. We got to learn A LOT!
We believe this internship
has definitely made us
great team players. We
always manage to work
as a team, even if we are
working on different
projects.
A LITTLE ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION…..
RECENT WORK/PROJECTS
HAPPY TO GROW is our new gardening
project,with the support of Citizens Community
New York City -we want to promote organic
gardening in our community with the help of our
senior and youth volunteer groups.
Annual 5-day long multicultural festival-
entertainment/food/cultural program for all ages.
APA VOICE voter engagement training, got
training in phone banking and door-knocking
skills.
National Visa Center- small workshop for people
to know about visa/immigration process.
BANGLADESHI AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & YOUTH SERVICES (BACDYS)
-We are a 501(3)(c) non-proÞt organization based in City Line, Brooklyn. We focus on improving the lives of
immigrants, underserved residents, women and the youth. Our services are designed speciÞcally to help these
people and overcome any barriers that is stopping them from living a better life. Some of our services, but
they are not limited to: Affordable Housing, US citizenship application, women’s ESL class and much more. For
more information please visit: www.bacdys.org or call at : 718-235-1700
GENDER EQUALITY
Jensine Raihan, an intern with DRUM,
running a gender justice meeting in
Jackson Heights, Queens.
NIZUM
&
SELVIA
OUR INTERNSHIP SO
FAR….
Writing grant
proposals
Creating flyers,
making changes to our
website to be able to
communicate better
with people and keep
them updated with our
projects and services
Working on projects to
develop and organize
our community
Helping our community
residents/immigrants
by providing them
with the social
services that they
need
Promoting our
organization &
making changes to
improve it each day
We feel so proud to be a
part of BACDYS (our org)
and to be able to support
such organization, it
truly has been an
amazing experience for
us. We got to learn A LOT!
We believe this internship
has definitely made us
great team players. We
always manage to work
as a team, even if we are
working on different
projects.
A LITTLE ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION…..
RECENT WORK/PROJECTS
HAPPY TO GROW is our new gardening
project,with the support of Citizens Community
New York City -we want to promote organic
gardening in our community with the help of our
senior and youth volunteer groups.
Annual 5-day long multicultural festival-
entertainment/food/cultural program for all ages.
APA VOICE voter engagement training, got
training in phone banking and door-knocking
skills.
National Visa Center- small workshop for people
to know about visa/immigration process.
BANGLADESHI AMERICAN COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & YOUTH SERVICES (BACDYS)
-We are a 501(3)(c) non-proÞt organization based in City Line, Brooklyn. We focus on improving the lives of
immigrants, underserved residents, women and the youth. Our services are designed speciÞcally to help these
people and overcome any barriers that is stopping them from living a better life. Some of our services, but
they are not limited to: Affordable Housing, US citizenship application, women’s ESL class and much more. For
more information please visit: www.bacdys.org or call at : 718-235-1700

5. Ester Rim, an intern at MinKwon, could, however, relate to
the disappointment in the Supreme Court. Born in Brazil
to Korean parents, she moved with her family to Queens
when she was 4. Her parents, she said, would have been
eligible to apply for administrative relief because her sister
had become a permanent resident.
Ms. Rim, attending Macaulay Honors College at the City
University of New York on a scholarship, did not even
tell her parents about the possibility that they could have
qualified. “I can’t even imagine how much heartbreak they
would’ve gone through,” she said.
Ester Rim
got involved
with Minkwon
Center through
their Youth
Empowerment
Program - this
summer, she is
the program’s
supervisor.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
June 24, 2016

6. As a New York Foundation intern at The Laundry Workers Center,
I have learned so much. I learned about canvassing, outreach and
went on my very first protest walk through the city streets.
I have been able to use my bilingual skills in many of my
interactions through canvassing and outreach all over the 5
boroughs. I have used and expanded my organizational and team
work skills. I have had a very flexible schedule from week to week
while conducting surveys in different neighborhoods, as well as
conducting outreach to laundromats.
One of my favorite parts as an intern at LWC has been the
opportunity to work on the development of their current survey as
well as editing their main webpage and its translation to Spanish.
I have also had the chance of meeting wonderful people from a
variety of backgrounds and organizing groups. I have absorbed as
much information as possible through my interactions. I have also
gotten a chance to canvass and outreach with my supervisor and
wonderful volunteers that want to support LWC.
I am very thankful for New York Foundation and Laundry
Workers Center for this summer opportunity that leaves me
feeling stronger and more knowledgable about the world of
organizing.
I hope that I can use these skills in my career as a Social Worker
when I graduate in May 2017.
WORKER’S RIGHTS
Yennifer Muriel, a graduate student in social work, talks
about her first experience with community organizing:
“
”
me
Leaves
feeling
stronger
Mary Lister at a picket
with Real Increase
Secure Earnings and
National Mobilization
Against Sweatshops.