Citizens Committee for New York City (CitizensNYC), a long-standing micro-granting organization rooted in showing the resilience of New Yorkers, has had a long-time partnership with Allied World to mobilize volunteers and create educational and nutritional school programs.

Karen Washington is busier than ever. She’s preparing for her community Garden of Happiness to join La Familia market, a community garden coalition she helped found in 1988. Before re-opening, she has mountains of guidelines to consider.

Referred to as “Mother Earth” by the New York Daily Times, Ena K. McPherson is a retired financial assistant that holds the keys to three community gardens in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Named in 2012, alongside Beyonce and Oprah, Karen Washington ranked in Ebony magazine’s “Power 100” of influential African-Americans.