THE MELLOWHOOD FOUNDATION PARTNERS WITH COMMUNITIES OF DEVASTATION TO BUILD INITIATIVES, WHICH ALLOW THEM TO TAKE THE INITIATIVE
The Mellowhood Foundation is a grassroots non-profit located on Madison's west side.
The foundation's goal is to change the quality of life in these communities by encouraging parents and children to become assets rather than liabilities.
WHAT WE DO
The Mellowhood Foundation utilizes the E.C.A. approach...
Entire Community Awareness
P.A.I.D. INITIATIVE
Preparing Assets for Integration without Dependency
Encourages youth to become engaged, productive citizens with job skills and a sense of personal responsibility. The youth (ages 7‐17) are paid to care for large garden plots that grow food for the community, as well as general maintenance of the Hammersley Community Garden area. The youth also assist other areas with street cleanups, garden maintenance and invasive species removal. UW‐Extension provides horticulture, nutrition, and work skills education.
P.O.P. TEAM
People on Premises
People on Premises is an initiative of the Mellowhood Foundation, designed to create ownership of the community by the community with a neighborhood safety and support team with a presence in the Meadowood Shopping Center and Meadowood park areas on Madison's west side. The initiative has been successfully overseen by Elizabeth Borchardt since its birth.
P.O.P. is designed to create ownership of the community by the community by providing a known, friendly neighborhood presence and gentle parental guidance. Employing community members trusted by the neighborhood strategically during high-stress hours, P.O.P. will provide a proactive and positive presence in de-escalating tensions and discouraging potential gang activity.
P.O.P. team members serve as an example of community ownership and self-reliance, and underscore the power of striving to be the best examples to the neighborhood.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the P.O.P. team was able to seamlessly transition to delivering meals because of trusting bonds and relationships built within the community. P.O.P. ensured meals were delivered to families in need while "stay-at-home" orders were in place, while responsibly maintaining social distancing and sanitation.
MELLOWHOOD COMMUNITY COLLABORATIVE
Organized for Action
(Coming Soon)
The Mellowhood Community Collaborative is a solutions-based organization of true neighborhood stakeholders. More specifically, the collaborative is made up of dedicated people who are genuinely invested in our community, many are neighborhood residents who can’t (don’t want to) pick up and leave when a shift is over or program funds dry up. We provide oversight of programs, initiatives, and activities that take place in the Meadowood neighborhood daily as well as monitor landlord management concerns.
We meet monthly to share information, identify problems or gaps in services. The organization develops solutions and strategies to address any identified challenges and hold people accountable to make positive change. To truly develop a community, the people who live here need to have authority over the process. Local residents need to have oversight of how services are implemented as well as have a hand in how the various efforts are coordinated and complement each other. They also need to be trusted and respected enough to hold people and agencies accountable if their efforts are ineffective and/or counter-productive.
To be active together, we also run the Community United Flag Football Team and 3-on-3 basketball.