Dr. Melony Samuels Founder and Executive Director
The Campaign Against Hunger National Grid Foundation's
Woman of The Month DESTINY XVIII Q1 2022
National Grid Foundation
National Grid Foundation Recognizes
Dr. Melony Samuels Woman of the Month
Women’s History Month 2022
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From a Seed of Compassion Stems the Power of Potential By Pamela Focá
The story of Dr. Melony Samuels is a very inspiring one that is filled not only with the dedication to serving those in need, but filled with a true desire to teach others how to value the gifts which are buried within them. Fueled by her compassion for others struggling with food insecurities, Dr. Samuels knew it would take more than just herself to make a difference in addressing the issues of hunger in her community. It would take a group of like minded individuals to join her to help mitigate the needs of others in her community as well as to educating them about the importance of nutrition for keeping their bodies healthy and strong.
job to open a food pantry in the basement of a church, which later on became the organization known as The Campaign Against Hunger (TCAH).
It was shortly after Dr. Samuels moved her family away to South Jersey that someone from her former neighborhood reached out to her for help. The woman had a bone disease, four children and was having a difficult time placing food on their table. Immediately compassion for the womans predicament led Dr. Samuels to pack a box from her own pantry and drive to Brooklyn where the woman lived. Little did she know she would soon be doing the same for other families in need.
This led Dr. Samuels to dive deeper into addressing another problem which existed in the community which became obvious after taking a survey of the 6,000 families they were now helping. She learned 23% of those families had members with diabetes and or were obese. This was a problem that Dr. Samuels wanted to address, so she searched for a solution to remedy the high rate of diabetes and obesity in her community.
One family became five families, which grew into National Grid Foundation eight families feeding recognizes Dr. Melony Samuels, founder and executive director them all out of her of The Campaign Against own pocket. Realizing Hunger (TCAH), as our choice the magnitude of this for Woman of the Month during task, she reached out Women’s History Month. to the parent-teacher association at her son’s school to partner with other like-minded volunteers to feed and nourish more than 350 people a week. Dr. Samuels, who holds a doctorate in religious education, left a successful sales representative
In the beginning, the organization's pantry were serving families from a choice model, but noticed that more of the starchy vegetables, canned and boxed items were flying off the shelves while often leaving the green leafy vegetables behind.
She thought back to her childhood growing up on Jamaica. In Jamaica everyone had gardens, whether it would be in the front yard, backyard or side yard. People there would grew their own fruits and vegetables. That memory prompted her into clearing a small unused patch of land behind her office to create a victory garden. She knew the garden could be a way to further help the community, not only by growing fruits and vegetables, but it could serve as place to educate the youth and seniors alike about the importance of eating healthy nutritiously dense foods.
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The Campaign Against Hunger Founder and Executive Director Dr. Melony Samuels (fourth from left) and TCAH Associates stand together with National Grid Foundation Board of Director Vice – Chairman Dr. Rev. Gary V. Simpson, Executive Director Ed White, and team member Kelly Rubbins.
As TCAH began to expand to urban farming, Dr. Samuels reiterated the importance of what she is most passionate about - Investing in the lives of others, especially of the youth which is of the utmost importance. "Young people are a priority to me," she noted, "because we are shaping the minds of our future and our country. We have to let young people know how valuable they are."
Young woman like Stephanie Josephs who joined TCAH's Green Teens Program, went on to receive her BA and later returned to TCAH. She now works as TCAH's HR Contracting manager. Another young woman, Jenae Joseph went through the Green Teens Program and is now the Farm Manager at the Healing Garden located in Far Rockaway, TCAH's largest urban farm.
With a strong nurturing disposition, Dr. Samuels sees herself as a mother, teacher, advocate, and someone who inspires other to do their best. She often quotes, "We are our brother's or neighbor's keeper." And she uses every resource available to drive that point into the characters of those working with and for TCAH.
Dr. Samuels said she is only doing what anyone else who cares about their community would do; that is to make sure we help our neighbors. This a lesson she adopted from the woman who influenced her the most - her mother.
It is with great exuberance she notes the much appreciated support that National Grid Foundation has given to TCAH over the past years enabled many of the young people who joined them to flourish.
At a young age she got to see her mother put those very principles that guide her today into action. Her family were owners of a lucrative food business in Jamaica. She watched as her mom would let a woman with very limited means buy groceries, sometimes leaving the store with three to four times the amount of food than she had
NATIONAL GRID FOUNDATION — DESTINY INTERACTIVE XVIII Q1 2022 Editor/Christine Berardi Contributing Writer/Deborah Drew Creative Director/Pamela Focá Executive Director/Edward H. White Jr. Destiny is a quarterly publication created to share and promote the accomplishments of the organizations and programs National Grid Foundation supports.
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paid for. Her mother knew the woman needed help and provided it graciously.
is an increase of 10 times the amount of meals served.
Those lessons of caring for others galvanized her resolve that would eventually be tested during the not too welcomed Covid-19 pandemic. During the midst of devastation and while a third of the city's pantries and soup kitchens where closed, TCAH remained opened.
Realizing TCAH could not do it alone they built a partnership with 150 organization who could move food into intricate and vital areas which provide services for people who are chronically ill, disabled, or poverty strickened. And for those who can not access TCAH they created a system for TCAH to access them.
Dr. Samuels said, "That TCAH evolved during the many challenges it was presented with because we have been championing food insecurities for a very long time and we exceeded beyond what we ever dreamed possible." Dr. Samuels contends, "The community of color is in dire need for nutritious meals and TCAH is the communities food justice champions. For years the issue of hunger was the elephant in the room and totally ignored until Covid hit - then everyone knew what took place. More people were dying in the communities of color than anywhere else." "Now, I believe individuals are listening and TCAH is using what we've learned during the pandemic to help remedy the problems faced in these communities. For TCAH, Covid was seen not as a stumbling block, but as a stepping stone to becoming better prepared to do much more by taking this opportunity to shape the food system of New York," Dr. Samuels said. Dr. Samuels forward thinking has propelled TCAH to continually grow and adjust to advancing the cause of food insecurities because the need is that great. TCAH has expanded their footprint to include a 19,000 sq. ft. warehouse space serving 14,000 families per week, and now preparing over 30 million meals per year compared to 3 million meals before Covid, which
This is why funding from National Grid Foundation is such an important component to what TCAH is doing. National Grid Foundation has always believed in what TCAH does. With all that Dr. Samuels and TCAH has managed to accomplish they are looking to embark on an even greater endeavor. She is now laser focused on acquiring a 80,000 sq. ft. space to address hunger across the boroughs. It will have 10,000 sq. ft. of refrigeration. Commercial kitchens to prepare meals with training facilities; education areas for children, families and seniors; and with plenty of storage space to hold 3 to 4 months worth of emergency food preparation. Developing the talents of those around her and igniting their passion and compassion to serve, Dr. Samuels continues to work at raising the awareness of hunger in their communities while bringing solutions which teach them how to thrive and not just survive.
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National Grid Foundation is proud to name Dr. Melony Samuels as National Grid Foundation's Woman of the Month in recognition of Women's History Month. A woman of vision who puts the needs of others before her own. She is most certainly a role model for all young women to follow.
Above Photo: Dr. Melony Samuels, Founder and Executive Director, The Campaign Against Hunger
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On Point for College Alumni On Point for College is an organization that assists young people enroll and succeed in college. National Grid Foundation supports On Point’s Summer Pre-College Orientation Program which provides opportunities for inner-city and first-generation youth from Syracuse, New York, and surrounding areas. Here are highlights of three On Point graduates: Kumari enrolled at On Point for College in 2010 and received support until she found the right fit for her undergraduate studies at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2016 and with a Master’s in Nursing in 2018. The American Red Cross awarded Kumari the Real Hero Award in 2017. Kumari also was the recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award in 2018, received the Star Student Award from On Point for College, and the Ellen P. Coher Award for excellence in healthcare. Kumari relied on her career coach at On Point to help her apply for a full-time position after graduation.
Photo credit: Jennifer Trapnell/The Bhutan News Service
Kumari Regmi
Kumari along with husband Bikash and their daughter. Born in Bhutan, Khumari and her family had to flee when she was six years old. After spending 17 years in a refugee camp in Nepal, the family resettled in Syracuse, NY in 2009.
Today, Kumari is a nurse practitioner for OPTUM/United Healthcare and is an adjunct professor at SUNY Polytechnic, Utica. She has worked within the refugee community to help eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. Along with her husband Bikash, also a nurse practitioner, she has hosted a variety of educational health fairs throughout Central New York. She is the Upstate New York representative to the Refugee Congress.
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Photo credit: City of Syracuse
Photo credit: Rodney Robinson
Naseer Thomas
Rodney Robinson
Naseer Thomas is an ambassador for National Grid’s Grid for Good program. He is currently employed as a project manager at the company. Naseer has been active in public policy since he was young. He even made a presentation to the Syracuse City School District Board on ways to increase literacy rates while he was still a high school student. After graduating from Henniger High School in Syracuse, Naseer enrolled at SUNY Oswego and graduated in 2021 with a degree in Marketing. With support services from On Point for College, Naseer had several internships with companies in and around Syracuse before he completed the Grid for Good program and was offered the position of project manager.
In 2014, Rodney entered the On Point for College program as a junior at the Institute of Technology at Syracuse Central. After graduating from ITC in 2015 and with the help of On Point, Rodney enrolled at SUNY Buffalo, graduating in 2020 with a degree in Industrial Technology. He then completed National Grid’s Grid for Good Tier 2 and Tier 3 programs. After working with an On Point mentor and participating in two internships, Rodney will begin working at National Grid as an Associate Gas Operation Supervisor in May.
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Click on the logo to learn more about On Point for College
Thanks to the connections made between National Grid Foundation, On Point for College and National Grid many On Point students receive assistance to reach college and future employment. Several On Point graduates (such as Naseer Thomas and Rodney Robinson profiled above) have found jobs at National Grid. Connecting the dots: the Foundation provides the grant to On Point which helps students through their college years. On Point then works with numerous companies including National Grid to assist graduates find meaningful work. Win, Win, Win!
No Screen Summer No Screen Summer program, an environmental education curriculum for economically disadvantaged youth that takes children away from their phones, tablets, or similar and teaches them about our beautiful world. National Grid Foundation's support of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield has given them the ability to implement more dynamic programming. Through these programs, kids learn about the local environment and ecosystem, plant trees, remove invasive species, and restore
habitats around their communities. Kid-run leadership groups presented challenges to think critically about the environment, their own actions and behaviors, as well as the economic impact of any actions on families.
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National Grid Foundation
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield with the support from National Grid Foundation has been able to serve over 10,000 children and on average, 217 children a day for the past two years!
Click on the logo to learn more about Boys and Girls Clubs of Stoneham and Wakefield
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FirstWorks
Rapid Pivot
National Grid Foundation supported FirstWorks rapid pivot to virtual programming in March 2020, and because of this they were able to meet the needs of students and educators as they navigated the pandemic. Through the lens of: Earth First - A vehicle for equitable access to the arts and a powerful initiative focused on the environment and STEAM. Raise Your Voice - Celebrates diversity and social justice. Funding allows FirstWorks to foster once-in-a-lifetime experiences for students with world-class artists. FirstWorks Arts Education - Helps combat chronic absenteeism by using the arts and sciences as a powerful tool to reengage students in the classroom and promotes innovative thinking through the arts around intractable climaterelated problems. It engages students in academic and creative projects that utilized arts-intensive, virtual experiences to communicate compelling ideas of social responsibility and global interconnectedness.
Click on the FirstWorks logo to learn more about FirstWorks
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Earth First and Raise Your Voice programming included: Miwa Matreyek
In a residency surrounding Earth Day, FirstWorks presented acclaimed multimedia artist Miwa Matreyek’s newest work, Infinitely Yours, an exploration of the web of intricate connections between humans and climate change, which was live-streamed on Earth Day in April 2021. Miwa’s residency included: The creation of an “Earth First” lesson plan on Greenhouse Gases and Global Temperature Change, featuring videos of her creative process Virtual workshops at Lawn Ave Elementary School (Jamestown), Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts, and Hope High School (Providence)
Daniel Bernard Roumain
FirstWorks Artistic Ambassador, Haitian-American violinist, and dynamic teacher Daniel Bernard Roumain has a long history of working with students in “core” schools with a focus on Providence and Central Falls. nder the Raise Your Voice theme, Daniel held Teacher Professional U Development workshops which included: Hope & Healing Social Inequalities, A Primer for the Classroom Teaching Now...What is the Same and What has Changed?
Thea Hopkins
In the Fall of 2021, Indigenous folk artist Thea Hopkins performed a free concert for families at Roger Williams Park with Native American Flutist Hawk Henries, which was live-streamed. With themes surrounding Earth First, Hopkins engaged students through virtual workshops focused on indigenous songwriting and led a free professional development workshop for educators Giving Voice to the Music: Narrativizing Cultural and Social Histories.
Every generation has the obligation to free men's mind's for a look at new worlds ... to look out from a higher plateau than the last generation. Ellison Onizuka Ellison Shoji Onizuka was an American astronaut, engineer, and USAF test pilot from Kealakekua, Hawaii, who successfully flew into space with the Space Shuttle Discovery
Photo Credit: Ed White - Ireland