At South Side Community Growth Foundation we believe that strong communities are built through deliberate, sustained investment in people, in knowledge, and in the organizations doing the work every day. Over the past year, we have partnered with three organizations that reflect that belief in action and together, they tell a story about what it looks like to invest in a community from the inside out.
Reading, learning, and dreaming in STEAM with United Way of Central New York
At McKinley-Brighton Elementary School, something simple and powerful is happening every month: students are getting books. Through our $15,000 investment in United Way of Central New York’s Full STEAM Ahead program all 253 students in kindergarten through third grade, are each receiving one free book per month focused on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math.
Full STEAM Ahead is a partnership between the United Way of CNY and the Syracuse City School District, designed to spark curiosity about STEAM careers while deepening engagement between students and their families at home. Each book distribution includes a resource sheet with reading tips, vocabulary words, at-home activities, and experiments, tools that invite parents and caregivers to become active partners in their child’s learning.
Research consistently shows that parent involvement is the single greatest predictor of early literacy success, and this program is built around that truth. Across the four schools where Full STEAM Ahead currently operates, more than 1,240 students are receiving books each month.
Our investment at McKinley-Brighton ensures that Southside families are part of that reach and that children on the Southside are building home libraries that can grow with them for years to come.
Lifesaving skills, close to home with FORCE CNY
Access to emergency preparedness training shouldn’t depend on zip code. FORCE CNY, a community-based organization on the Southside, is working to change that and we are proud to support them with a $5,000 investment.
Together we are working toward goals that go beyond a single class or training session including the training of five community members as American Heart Association certified instructors and 150 Southside neighbors trained and certified in lifesaving skills. Improvements to safety and accessibility at the center will ensure the space is ready to welcome the community. And through FORCE CNY’s Pay It Forward model, newly trained community members become instructors themselves—creating a peer-to-peer teaching pipeline that keeps growing long after the initial investment.
For us, this investment comes with a commitment to show up. Beyond the funding, our team will be a presence at FORCE CNY, using their center for internal training and as a hub for our community engagement work. We’ll also co-sponsor for the organization’s annual outreach day this June.
We believe the spaces we invest in should be spaces we use, and our ongoing presence at FORCE CNY reflects our commitment to building alongside the Southside, not just funding from a distance.
Celebrating culture, strengthening community with Café Sankofa
In December, we supported Café Sankofa’s Kwanzaa celebration, a free, family-friendly event honoring Ujima, the third principle of Kwanzaa, which calls on us to embrace collective work and responsibility. Held at Café Sankofa, the event brought together roughly 40 neighbors for a soul food dinner, cultural education, children’s books, and a conversation about the future of the Southside, including an update on plans to bring a new grocery store to the community.
Our Executive Director, Deka, joined neighbors, community leaders, and families for the celebration and left reminded of why this work matters. Café Sankofa embodies the values at the heart of true community: led from within, rooted in culture, and unwavering in its commitment to our Southside neighbors.
Café Sankofa is a volunteer-run, Black-led health and wellness organization whose name, drawn from the Twi word meaning “go back and get it,” reflects a commitment to reconnecting with roots while building forward. The celebration embodied that spirit and it was a moment for neighbors to gather, learn, and recommit to one another. And we are already looking forward to the 2026 celebration!
Investment in partnership
The Southside doesn’t need saviors—it needs partners.
We are committed to investing in partnerships with organizations that are community-led, community-rooted, and community-accountable. We believe that the strongest outcomes come from working alongside neighbors, not on their behalf, and our partnerships reflect that commitment at every level.
Learn more about our partners: