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Casita Presents: The Bronx is the World's Strongest Borough!

  • By Gail Heidel, Associate Director of Creative Arts Programs
  • 18 Apr, 2017
One pull-up closer to being the World’s Strongest Borough. Thank you Casita Maria super strong student Nidia Solano!
Casita Maria Center For Arts & Education in partnership with Bronx Health REACH, Claremont Neighborhood Centers, Inc., and Department Of Family Medicine At Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center are proud to present the South Bronx Healthy And Livable Neighborhoods Initiative Artist Residency with Cultural Ambassador of the Bronx, Baron Ambrosia.
Baron Ambrosia’s artist-led project, The Bronx is the World’s Strongest Borough! is an active, healthy, accessible, beautification and educational program that involves large-scale community engagement to qualify the Bronx as “The World’s Strongest Borough” through completing the most “pull-ups”. The goal is to get 1 pull-up from as many Bronx residents as possible – allowing fitness to be fun and easy to start! Intergenerational participants will learn leadership skills, civic engagement, and community building while fostering self-esteem, a sense of self-pride and accomplishment along with motivational tools.
A “Mobile Pull-Up Bar of Power,” and Fit ‘N Fun Club will travel to neighborhood plazas, parks and schools throughout the South Bronx (Claremont, Hunts Point and Mott Haven). At each site, participants will learn and engage in a different no-equipment- needed fitness class led by GetUpNGetFit founder and fitness trainer, Thomas Johnson. Each class will include a discussion about the health benefits of the specific fitness modality and healthy eating tips. Additionally, participants will engage and invite people passing by to join in the “Make the Bronx the Strongest Borough Challenge” which is comprised of 1 pull-up.
On Wednesday, May 31, 2017 a culminating Award Ceremony and Inauguration of a permanent Pull-Up Bar of Power and mural, commissioned from Bronx-based graffiti artists Tats Cru, will be held at Claremont Neighborhood Center, Inc., 489 E 169th Street, Bronx to celebrate the achievement. Baron Ambrosia and Fitness Trainer Thomas Johnson will be onsite for the unveiling along with a DJ. Healthy foods, beverages and a fitness class will be provided.
These free events are part of The Claremont Healthy Village Initiative Artist Residency and are made possible by The New York Community Trust with additional funding from Bronx Health Reach. All events are open to the public and suitable for all ages.

FREE: Wednesdays, April to June 2017, 3 to 6 PM

To register, contact: Daniel Dei
Community Health Worker, Bronx Lebanon Hospital
DDei@bronxleb.org
(718) 901-8497
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Children at the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education are bowing, stomping and vocalizing…and some are even pressing.  All that is music talk for playing the violin, dancing, singing and piano playing.  Casita Maria is music, arts and so much more.  We are building tomorrow’s leaders. When a child enters Casita’s doors they are coached, nurtured and supported.  They are taught self-reliance and responsibility, all while learning the joy of music.

This is what you make possible every time you donate to our programs.  Today, on #Giving Tuesday, share your joy of music with the children of the South Bronx and East Harlem and watch us create the leaders of the future.

Entering its sixth year, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. Since its inaugural year in 2012, #GivingTuesday has become a movement that celebrates and supports giving and philanthropy.

By Haydee Morales, Executive Director 27 Sep, 2017

Casita Maria (The Little House of Mary) was founded in 1934 to help Puerto Ricans in East Harlem. It is the first and oldest Latino charity.  That mission continues today as we stand in support of Puerto Ricans following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and as we extend our hands and hearts to our sister islands in the Caribbean and to Mexico following the earthquake.  

Please give generously to relief efforts established via national and community organizations that can get the relief to the people who need it the most.

Locally, supplies needed for the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico can be dropped off at Mothers on the Move, 928 Intervale Avenue, at one of eleven centers at Urban Health Plan or Hispanic Federation.  

Casita Maria will be convening with partner organizations for a coordinated and sustained effort moving forward as Puerto Rico will require long-term assistance to address the devastation ahead.  

Water, power, fuel, food and life-saving supplies must reach them fast. We stand in solidarity with elected officials who are advocating swiftly and strongly in this matter.  We ask for your help.

We will continue to keep you posted about how, as a community, we can help moving forward and we thank you in advance for your generosity.

Arriba corazones!


Casita María (La Pequeña Casa de María) fue fundada en 1934 para ayudar a los puertorriqueños en El Barrio. Es la primera y más antigua organización en benéfica de los  latinos. Esa misión continúa hoy cuando apoyamos a los puertorriqueños después de los huracanes Irma y María, y extendemos nuestras manos y corazones a nuestras hermanas islas en el Caribe y a México después del terremoto.

Por favor dé generosamente a los esfuerzos de ayuda establecidos a través de las organizaciones nacionales y comunitarias que pueden obtener el alivio a las personas que más lo necesitan.

Localmente, los suministros necesarios para la crisis humanitaria en Puerto Rico, pueden ser dejados en Mothers on the Move, 928 Avenida Intervale, en uno de los once centros del Urban Health Plan o la Federación Hispana.

Casita María se reunirá con las organizaciones asociadas para un esfuerzo coordinado y sostenido, ya que Puerto Rico requerirá asistencia a largo plazo para enfrentar la devastación que se avecina.

Los suministros de agua, electricidad, combustible, alimentos y salud deben alcanzarlos rápidamente. Estamos en solidaridad con los funcionarios electos que están abogando con rapidez y firmeza en este asunto. Pedimos su ayuda.

Continuaremos manteniéndole informado sobre cómo, en comunidad, podemos ayudar a avanzar y le agradecemos de antemano por su generosidad.

Arriba corazones!

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