By: Aileen Balahadia, N2N Program Consultant
N2N was founded with the ultimate goal of supporting community led efforts to change racist systems, policies, and practices that have had generations of damaging effects on Black and brown communities. While many N2N groups are at the early stage of their advocacy journey, one recent Fall 2023 grantee, No More Under, has been laser-focused on their advocacy goals.
No More Under is a Black-led organization dedicated to saving lives through water safety education, legislation, and increasing equitable access to swimming lessons and tools. They advocate that swimming, first and foremost, is a necessary lifesaving skill, instead of simply a sport and recreational activity.
Drowning is the number one cause of death among children 1-4 and the number two cause of accidental death among children of all ages. Additionally, there are alarming disparities in the drowning rates of Black children—the cause of which can be traced back to Jim Crow-era laws that kept Black communities away from the water. 64% of Black have few to no swimming skills and drowning rates in swimming pools are 5.5 times higher for Black children than their white counterparts.
During our Site visit with N2N advisory committee members and Chezik Tsunoda, Founder and Executive Director and Gennette Cordova, Advocacy Director, we all shared our own experiences growing up Black (and brown) and understanding the racism involved in accessing swim facilities, lessons, and swim accessories. From expensive fees to a lack of cultural competency to actual laws that didn’t allow Black people from accessing public pools, it was so clear that the disproportionate rates for today’s Black children are rooted in bad policy.
Near the beginning of the century, public pools could be found in many urban areas across the country, but that all changed as cities moved to desegregate those swimming areas. In her book, “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together,” Heather McGhee discusses how many cities closed their pools rather than commit to desegregation.
This round, N2N supported No More Under to further their advocacy work to get water safety education implemented into all Washington schools, by first focusing on facial disparities in drowning disparities locally in South Seattle and approximately 20 schools to start. With this grant, they will be developing the pilot curriculum, collecting data and doing community outreach to raise awareness about the programming to garner support for the forthcoming water safety curriculum legislation.
This work builds off a previous year N2N grant where they did outreach work with the Holgate St Church of Christ’s Student and Family Support Program, which is comprised of 95% Black children. Their outreach included a drowning prevention awareness campaign for both the youth and their families, providing swim lessons to a dozen students and the beginnings of our advocacy outreach to make the community aware of our legislative efforts. Because of this, we’ve developed a strong relationship with Holgate Church, and they’ve been a strong partner in advocacy.
For example, in 2023, No More Under successfully partnered with Representative April Berg (D-44) in the creation and passage of water safety legislation that supports the goals and ideals of National Water Safety Month, and proclaims every May 15th as “Water Safety Day,” to encourage counties, cities, and school districts to support national goals. To learn more about House Bill 1750 visit here. To learn more about Yori, to whom this Bill is now named, please read more about him here.
We applaud No More Under’s advocacy wins, now and are excited for what’s to come.
The full list of N2N Fall 2023 grantees can be found below:
Fall 2023 Grants
- ALA Garifuna Women’s Group: To support continued workshops in South Seattle/South KC that educate and preserve culture, language, and identity amongst Garifuna immigrants and their children, which then serves as a foundation for Garifuna organizing on domestic worker and immigrant rights.
- Ase Theater*: To produce an event series for youth and adult artists using the power of empowered storytelling to support intergenerational relationships and cultural connections of Black Womxn and Gxrlz across South Seattle.
- Ball for Life*: To support East African youth health and leadership project in SeaTac/Tukwila that aims to bring awareness to diabetes and other diseases that can be prevented through knowledge, community, and physical activities.
- Black Equality Coalition*: To support Black leaders and members largely in SeaTac/Tukwila to develop their leadership around the issue of criminal justice reform by partnering with Look2Justice and expanding a current pilot project “Unstoppable”, an elementary mentoring project, to SeaTac/Tukwila.
- Burien Youth Cooperative Project: To support work with BIPOC White Center/Burien youth to progress their vision of a cooperatively owned specialty coffee business by piloting monthly pop-up shops and developing brand recognition.
- Choose to Win Transitional Housing*: To support and mentor Kent area Black males ages 13-18 on mental health, empowering them to recognize their mental health challenges as well as those in their community, through the use of a culturally competent, credible messenger model tailored to support Black males led by Black Males.
- Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association*: To support and co-design with Latinx and BIPOC youth from South Seattle/Duwamish Valley a community engagement approach that centers community needs and finds community solutions for sustainability based on the current South Park biodigester project.
- E&F Youth Sports: To support Black and African Muslim youth in SeaTac/Tukwila who are facing declining physical well-being and rising mental health challenges with a series of educational, mentorship, and activity-based gatherings destigmatizing drug and mental health.
- Highly Hated Foundation**: To support efforts to build community with and develop the leadership of BIPOC low income youth in White Center through fun activities, sports, mentorship, and the sharing of talents that keep youth out of trouble and motivates them to help others.
- Liberian Community of WA: To engage Liberian community members, primarily in Kent, through direct outreach, youth leadership, and resource referrals to sustain the organization and build momentum for a Liberian community center in the near future.
- No More Under: To support water safety advocacy efforts centering Black and brown children that address racial disparities in childhood drowning by piloting water safety and drowning curriculum in partnerships with schools in South Seattle and beyond.
- Rhapsody Project*: To support BIPOC South Seattle & Kent adults + youth apprentice pairs in a heritage project series that allows them to share their cultures, ultimately contributing to stronger mental health, more confidence, and less isolation.
- Seattle Griot Project: To support the development of their new building, the Washington State Black Legacy Institute and its anchor project focused on developing Black generational wealth and inclusive leadership for South Seattle area members, particularly through cultural preservation and addressing the digital divide.
- Somali Independent Business Alliance*: To support Somali small businesses in South Seattle by conducting surveys and hosting workshops to address their unique business challenges and provide tailored resources for economic growth and community strengthening.
- Writers Development Program**: To support BIPOC incarcerated, aspiring writers at the Washington Corrections Center publish in Seattle and the surrounding areas through mentorship inside and outside. This work reduces recidivism, builds supportive communities, and highlights injustices that mainstream communities can act upon.
- Zola Experience*: To support a two-part healing experience designed to provide support, promote resilience, and foster collective healing for the Black community in the Rainier Valley, especially given recent public traumas and spikes in violence.
*Indicates a first-time applicant to N2N
**Indicates the first time an organization has written a grant application
For more information about Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N), please contact Program Consultant Aileen Balahadia at 206-250-4299 or [email protected]. The quarterly deadlines for N2N are January 30, April 30, July 30, and October 30.