Happy Holidays from SPEC Co-Founders Dr. Rhianna C. Rogers and Joe Torreggiani

As we all know, this has been a difficult year for many. As some of you know, this year I co-founded Sustainable Progress and Equality Collective (an expansion of the highly successful Buffalo Project) with co-founder Joe Torreggiani.

At SPEC, we are so thankful and humbled by the support we have received since partnering with the Buffalo Project and opening in June 2020. We have exceeded many of our goals this year, including the development of our CITISEN internship program and Office Street Smart microcredential. This holiday season, we want to take a few minutes to celebrate a few of the highlights from the first 6 months:

1. We created a steering committee of dedicated community stakeholders working to make the future better for all;

2. We hired 5 Core Contributors;

3. We funded 10 CITISEN Interns/Research Associates (Fall '20 and Spring '21);

4. We placed 2 people in STEAM jobs;

5. We graduated 2 Core Contributors to other positions;

6. We published op-eds and DEI-focused infographics; and

7. We introduced a FREE microcredential for high school and college-age learners around soft-skill development called "Office Street Smarts."

In honor of everyone's contributions and our accomplishments at SPEC, Joe and I are donating to other organizations focused on making the world more inclusive and equitable (see list below).

Buffalo City Mission: https://www.buffalocitymission.org/

WEDI/Westside Bazaar: https://www.westsidebazaar.com/about_wedi

The Arc of the Capital Area (Austin, TX): https://www.arcaustin.org/

COVID Care Packages for Essential Workers (WNY): https://www.wivb.com/news/kenmore-woman-gives-covid-care-packages-to-essential-workers/

Black Love Resists in the Rust (WNY): https://www.blackloveresistsintherust.org/home

1k project - https://www.1kproject.org

Donor Choose - https://www.donorschoose.org/classroom/ms-dobbins

Feeding America - https://www.feedingamerica.org

Kiva microloans- https://www.kiva.org

StarBright Freedom Fund - https://www.gofundme.com/f/starbright-freedom-fund

Black Feminist Project /Libertad Urban Farm - https://www.gofundme.com/f/theblkprojek

Homeless Black Trans Women Fund - https://www.gofundme.com/f/p6q5sm-homeless-black-trans-women-fund

Appropedia - https://www.appropedia.org/Welcome_to_Appropedia

From all of us at SPEC, we want to wish you all a happy, healthy and safe holiday season!