Meet and greets bring SE Raleigh together

RALEIGH – Southeast Raleigh Promise has introduced a new blueprint of community engagement that is gaining momentum and ensures the residents it serves are aware of the available resources and how to tap into them.

The organization’s Southeast Raleigh Community Leadership Action Team hosted a larger crowd at its second Neighborhood Meet & Greet on March 26 at Wingz American Grill off Rock Quarry Road.

The monthly meet and greets are designed to build relationships throughout the community, share resources and create pathways to strengthen leadership development in preparation to tackle complex issues.

“Everyone has the potential for leadership, but not all have the resources to develop themselves to do that effectively because we have been intentionally excluded from positions of leadership in the community,” said Kia Baker, the founder and executive director of Southeast Raleigh Promise, a nonprofit “community quarterback.” “This is our attempt at building community and relationships to solve problems.”

The overall mission of Southeast Raleigh Promise is to develop a “cradle-to-career pipeline of services and interventions to support children and families in Southeast Raleigh,” Baker said. Using a Purpose Built Communities model, the organization aims to break cycles of intergenerational poverty. and improve outcomes for children and families through education, affordable housing, health and wellness, economic opportunity and leadership development.

The group will combine its April 27 meet and greet with the Southeast Raleigh Community Day, which it co-sponsors with the YMCA of the Triangle and the new Southeast Raleigh YMCA. The event will be at 1436 Rock Quarry Road, the site of a new elementary school, YMCA, and mixed-use residential and commercial development.

“A lot of what’s going on, too many of us don’t know anything about it,” said New York native and Raleigh newcomer Telena Banks, who has completed the Raleigh Neighborhood College, and is working to start a television show on RTN that will showcase what Southeast Raleigh has to offer and what it needs. “We want to be more involved in the community, and I see this as a way to find out about what resources are out there for all of us.” Read More