2019 Camp Carrot Highlights

This month, Isles hosted 17 students at Camp Carrot—a 3-week camp where kids explored the outdoors, cooked healthy meals, went on field trips and discovered more about the environment and gardening through fun and educational activities.  Students learned about the importance of nutrition and exercise as they grew fresh produce, created tasty meals and practiced yoga.

“At camp we got to plant beets, carrots, bok choy, radishes and cilantro,” said eight-year-old camper Mary.

Students also enjoyed adventuring to nature sites such as Grounds for Sculpture, Gravity Hill Farm, the Abbott Marshlands and Howell Living History Farm.

“I liked going on the trip to Gravity Hill Farm,” stated 13-year-old camper Arielis.  “We went into the garden, picked food and got to eat fresh onions.”

Our Tucker Street garden served as an interactive area for students to learn about local produce, plants and how to maintain a garden.  Campers participated in activities that explained the importance of pollinators in a garden, watering systems, the differences between seeds and how to harvest fruits and vegetables.  12-year-old camper Gabe especially took interest in studying the bee hive at Tucker Street.

“When a bee hive gets too hot they use their wings’ down-drift to cool it off,” he explained.  “When the hive gets too cold they rub against each other creating friction.”

Thank you campers and our Urban Agriculture team for an exciting season!  Help us continue to grow this camp by donating at isles.org/donate.

A Birthday of Service

Carol Haag has been a volunteer, donor, and advocate for many local organizations over the years. For her 80th birthday, she asked her friends to give a day of service and join her in volunteering at these organizations. 

On July 11, Carol and a group of friends volunteered with Isles to work at the Tucker Street Garden. She has been a long-time donor to Isles but had never visited the organization itself.

“I was always impressed with the philosophy of Isles and the local impact of the organization,” noted Carol.  “But after visiting, I was totally blown away by the complexity and diversity in the ways Isles meets the needs of those in Trenton.” 

Thank you Carol and friends for your efforts to better the community!

Green Infrastructure

Though Isles’ environmental work has always extended far beyond the garden fence, we are excited to be part of a three-year green infrastructure project with partners Rutgers Water Resources and New Jersey Future utilizing funding from the federal Clean Water Act.

We are working with community and municipal partners to install demonstration projects that reduce stormwater runoff like street tree plantings, rain gardens, and rainwater collection systems. Two projects located at our Tucker Street facility include a 1500 gallon rainwater cistern and a 750 square foot rain garden. Together, they both limit the amount of water from the roof that enters the stormwater system and provide the bulk of the water needs for the nearby demonstration and educational garden.

We also hosted a rain barrel building workshop where people learned how to harvest rain water and built their own rain barrel to take home, and also worked with the NJ Tree Foundation to run a tree care workshop which included a tour of the community orchard at Tucker Street and a hands-on pruning demonstration.

See our calendar for upcoming workshops and events.

Isles: Explained

Can we describe Isles’ work in 100 seconds? We’ve created a simple illustrated video of our work to foster self-reliant families and healthy, sustainable community. Follow the story of Betty to learn more about the services Isles offers and how it impacts the community, and let us know what you think!

2019 Camp Carrot

Join us for a summer of discovery at gardens and parks in the city!

  • Explore the outdoors
  • Learn to grow your own food
  • Prepare tasty, healthy meals
  • Play games and get active
  • Learn through STEAM activities

Healthy lunch and snack included. Contact us for more details!

Who: Trenton students ages 9-12
When: August 5th-9th, 12th- 16th, 19th -23th 9:00 am- 4:00 pm
Where: Main location – Garden at 33 Tucker Street, Trenton NJ 08618
Contact: Christina at 609-341-4763, [email protected]

Camp Carrot Flyer Summer 2019 (English and Spanish)

Message from Isles Leadership

Dear Isles Family and Friends,

 

It is with profound sorrow that we share the news that Amor Adeva, Isles’ Grants Accountant, passed away on Thursday, 4/11 after experiencing a medical emergency in our offices.

 

Our Isles family is shocked and saddened by this unexpected and tragic event. Amor was a kind and gentle presence at Isles, always smiling for the many staff and partners who relied on her. A quiet, thoughtful friend, Amor was deeply committed to the people and work of Isles. We loved her and will miss her deeply.

 

Born and raised in the Philippines, Amor joined Isles in 2012 after working as an Auditor/Accountant at TCBA Watson Rice LLP and A.F. Paredes & Co. Amor received her education in the Philippines as well, earning a Bachelor of Laws from San Sebastian College of Law in Manila and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Philippines School of Business Administration.

 

Amor is survived by her husband, stepchildren, and grandson in Piscataway, as well as many family and friends here and in the Philippines. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We are in communication with her family, and will keep you apprised of funeral arrangements as details become available.

  

In 2013, after Typhoon Yolanda devastated the Philippines, Isles and our staff contributed to the relief effort in Amor’s honor. “MABUHAY TAYONG LAHAT” she had written to us in gratitude, “We Welcome All.” Amor was a welcoming spirit for all who knew her.  We are grateful to have known and loved her, and we hope her family finds peace in the coming days, knowing she did so much for others. 

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding as we grieve the loss of our friend and colleague.

 

In community,

 

John Hart, Marty Johnson, and the staff of Isles

 

Double Dutch Tournament to be Rescheduled

The Double Dutch tournament will be held at a later date and setting.  Please check back here for future updates.

Below is additional information about the tournament:

  • Free event
  • Eligible Age Groups: 7-12, 13-18, 19 and over.
  • Three participants per team.  Participants will be judged on technical ability, creativity, and presentation.
  • Jump ropes will be provided for the competition.  Bring your own to warm up with. 
  • Trophies will be awarded.

March Update

Dear Friends,

More and more, we talk – and worry – about social inequality, climate change, authoritarian rule – and can we make meaningful change?

Yes, in many ways, the bad ‘system is rigged.’ But can we rig a good system, too?  Yes, but it requires more than talk and worry – it requires action.

For over 38(!) years, we took our youthful energy, ideas and willingness to learn and applied them to Isles’ work.  We found better ways to strengthen challenged communities and restore the environment at the local, “isles” level.  The key is to honor family capacity for self-reliance, provide tools that they can use, create healthy places and then, to a large extent, get out of the way. 

Our staff, board, and volunteers honor the wisdom of communities, gaining new ideas. We   then share smart research and evidence-based data from across the country.  Our broad base of supporters makes innovation possible in this messy collision. The results are highlighted in this Annual Report

Can we teach others to do this?  Of course. Increasingly, we share our lessons and train others.  This year, Isles affected statewide policy around hazardous home lead threats, violence prevention and electric vehicle access for urban communities. I expanded my teaching of future leaders at the Keller Center at Princeton University, and we developed webinars, case studies for the classroom, op-eds, and we are compiling Isles’ history. All this occurred as we expanded Isles work on the ground. 

This doing and thinking are possible because of organized people and organized money. That includes our volunteer board, adeptly led by Michele Minter over the past 3 years. In January, Linda Revelle stepped into the role of Chair of Isles board of trustees. 

These are exciting, dynamic times at Isles. Beyond talk and worry, we act. But we need your help. Thanks for being there! Check out www.isles.org and let us know what you think.

In community,

Marty

Free Lead Testing

If your house or apartment was built before 1978, you may have lead paint in your home. Lead-based paint, even if hidden under layers of newer lead-free paint, can break down because of age, poor maintenance, or household repairs. Lead can also be found in your water from old plumbing pipes, soil, and even in children’s jewelry, toys, and old pottery. Lead in water has gotten a lot of attention lately, but dust from lead paint can be even more dangerous to young children. 80% or more of lead poisoning is caused by lead paint.

No amount of lead is safe for children under 6. It can cause severe attention, behavior, and learning problems. Lead poisoning is a life-long issue, but lead poisoning is preventableThe first step in protecting your children from lead poisoning is to have your home tested for lead.

Isles wants to test your home’s water and paint for lead at no cost. In fact, we’ll pay you $5 for taking this step towards a healthier home.

How it Works

Isles’ Community Health Workers will set up an appointment and come to your home to:

  • Test for the presence of lead
  • Test for other indoor issues that might be making asthma or other health conditions worse
  • Give you tips on how to keep your home lead safe and healthy
  • Give you a free gift bag of safe cleaning products and a $5 cash gift!

If we find lead in your home’s paint or dust, we can immediately enroll you in a program to provide repairs and maintenance to address the lead paint issues for free. If lead is found in your soil or water, we will provide you with information to help you keep your family safe. After the assessment, you could qualify for up to $12,000 in home repairs.

Check your eligibility

There is no income qualification for testing. All Trenton residents are invited to sign up to test their home for lead.

There is an income qualification for remediation. In order to qualify for free repairs to your home, you may not exceed our income cap. Check the table below to make sure your household income is less than the one listed for the number of people in your home.


If you have questions about your eligibility, contact us at 609-341-4726 or 609-341-4756.

Please note that Isles is not a government agency. We will not track your immigration status and we can provide testing services regardless of your status.

 

Keep your family safe from lead. Testing takes less than 1 hour and is scheduled at your convenience.

 

Call 609-341-4726 or sign up below:

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays!

Long ago, someone said, “Do something with your life that’s beautiful and will last.” That sentiment stuck with me, and I suspect you can relate to it too.

Is there anything more beautiful and lasting than helping others? Especially when “helping” means empowering families and communities – even tough ones – to be better, healthier, and more stable? And it goes on. Each person, each family we help offers a better chance for their children. It’s an enduring legacy and yes, research shows that helping others is both healthy and contagious.

 You can affect a family’s stability, their children’s health and IQ, their nutrition, their wealth, the health of their homes, and even climate change.

How? By supporting the work we do, and have done, for 37 years. As you can see from the attached highlights, Isles is a rare organization that finds innovative ways to strengthen families and make environments healthier.

Isles provides tools and training to foster self-reliance. Fundamentally entrepreneurial, we teach students and their parents how to grow their own healthy food in over 60 community gardens, how to convert toxic homes to healthy ones for children, and how to manage finances in ways that build wealth.

We also create healthy, energy efficient, sustainable places to live, work and play. Isles rebuilds homes, solar-powered former factories, parks, greenways, and more.  We then share that knowledge with others.

Isles saves families and taxpayers lots of money, reducing costs for energy, food, health care, education, housing, and much more.

These stories show how your support impacts families, kids, and communities.

———————————

Junior year, Julio left high school. In his words, “I didn’t know what to do, and I was embarrassed at being at a seventh-grade level, so I stopped going…”

In six short months, after entering the “tough-love” culture of Isles Youth Institute (IYI), he completed the rigorous Mental Toughness orientation, studied hard, attained certifications in carpentry and fork-lift operation, and interned at NASCAR’s Urban Youth Racing School. Later, he earned a diploma and even won the 2018 IYI Elizabeth Gray Erickson award for optimism and courage.

“It was a feeling I can’t really explain. It’s like your life is declining and you’re doing so bad, but then you finally feel like you succeeded in something. For your life to hit a 180 – man, it’s a great feeling, I loved it.” Julio thrived at IYI, and now works there helping other students travel the same path.

——

The Perez family fell behind in their mortgage after the birth of their twin boys. Isles’ Housing Counselor Elena helped them negotiate with the bank to successfully modify their mortgage. 

But the story doesn’t end there. Elena learned that one of the twins had elevated blood lead levels, so she connected them to Isles’ lead and healthy homes workers. They discovered the source of the lead: deteriorating windows. Within a few weeks, Isles repaired the house, and the child’s lead levels have come down.

As a result, several of Mr. Perez’s co-workers have come to us to buy a first home, improve their credit, get a mortgage, or test and clean lead in their home.

———————————–

You can see the difference your investment makes. This entrepreneurial work only happens when you and others get involved. 

Please mail your annual gift today or make a secure gift at isles.org/donate.

We need your help more than ever. Thank you for caring, and acting.

With gratitude and in community,

 Marty