Step Up Story: Fiorella Telles
“Your circumstances today don’t always determine your tomorrow.” That’s what our friend and client Fiorella Telles believes, and she would know. Today, she is able to raise her two children in a stable housing situation. But her circumstances have not always been as secure. So how did she turn things around? By refusing to give...Read More
Ready For Prime Time! The Step Up Team Appears On Bronxnet
Don’t adjust your television set… That really was Louis and Brad on BronxNet! Alongside our friend and client Fiorella Telles, they appeared on a recent episode of “Mission BX” to discuss Step Up for Better Living. Produced by Hostos Community College in partnership with BronxNet, “Mission BX” focuses on meaningful work happening in the Bronx....Read More
Staff Spotlight: Jesenia Arias
In 2004, Jesenia Arias was living in a shelter and relying on food pantries to feed herself and her new son. These days, her life looks very different. As Executive Administrative Assistant here at Step Up, Jesenia is integral to the management of our organization. She’s recently completed her Masters Degree in Business Leadership. She...Read More
Taproot Foundation Approves Volunteer Fundraiser
Exciting news… with thanks to The Taproot Foundation, we are pleased to welcome a volunteer recruiter to the Step Up team for the next three months (January-April). The Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit working to connect social change organizations with passionate, skilled volunteers for high-quality pro bono engagements, has approved the Step Up for Better Living...Read More
Board Spotlight: Brad Hamburger
How does a kid from Long Island grow up wanting to help revitalize the South Bronx? For our Board President Bradley Hamburger, it all goes back to The Yankees. To The Yankees, and to his father, who didn’t want to pay for parking. As a long time Yankees fan, Brad’s dad would bring him to...Read More
Remembering Our Client, April E.
Our commitment to our clients goes beyond the services we provide. For us, it’s personal. No member of the Step Up team embodies that better than Twila Waters. As our Director of Social Services, Twila is somebody our clients trust. This past October, Twila and the rest of Step Up for Better Living joined in...Read More
Year-in-Review: Back to School Supply Drive
Backpacks. Notebooks. Pencils and pens. A calculator. When kids have the right school supplies, they are more likely to stay in school. But every September, children from low-income families show up for their first day without the basics. When these supplies are out of reach for children going back to school, it creates a burden...Read More
Year-in-Review: Distribution Pop-Ups
For almost 8,000 individuals in the South Bronx this year, Step Up for Better Living was closer than ever. That’s because of a series of pop-up food and resource distribution events we co-sponsored this year at different locations around our community! We’re always looking for new ways to best serve folks in need in the...Read More
Staff Spotlight: Erinn Mallory Kolp
Erinn Mallory Kolp joined the Step Up Board in March of this year… the same month Covid-19 shut down the South Bronx. The pandemic was devastating. The nursing home right behind Erinn’s apartment saw the most deaths of any in the country. The already-vulnerable South Bronx community plunged into an unprecedented crisis. It was a...Read More
Year-in-Review: The Step Up Emergency Food Fund
In March of this year, Covid-19 shut down the South Bronx. Almost everyone was feeling the effects of the pandemic that month. But we knew that many in our community, who were already facing harsh food insecurity, were particularly vulnerable. The increased demand for food was exponential. Forty percent of New York City’s soup kitchens...Read More