Category: Pellere
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Where the Echo Still Lingers: Part Two
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Two weeks ago, we asked a simple question: Where are your memories held? We asked for your moments, your places, your stories. Your reminders of what matters, and why it’s worth remembering. And sure enough, some started coming in. Reminiscing in Rockland shared the importance of a playground: “There’s this Read more
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Redevelopment: 3 Pitfalls Worth Rethinking
Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation If you’ve ever raised an eyebrow at the word “redevelopment,” you’re not alone. We’ve all seen the news stories where we know something just ain’t right. Fly-by-night developers. Big, flashy ideas that seem totally out of place in a community. Here in our own region, let’s be honest – the biggest Read more
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Conversations in Motion: What We Learned on a Thursday Afternoon in Emlenton
Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation It started as a simple plan: take a walk, capture some video footage, and talk about how different brains and personalities work together to build community. It turned into one of those seemingly-simple but deeply impactful afternoons that left me feeling a little lighter, a little clearer, and even more grateful Read more
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“Right, so…. Wait, what was I saying?”
By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation If you know me at all, you know that sentence comes out of my mouth at least three times a day. Sometimes four. I have a short-term memory that could charitably be described as… not great. I have Alexa reminders for the notes on my phone, which point to sticky Read more
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No, Don’t Do That! (The Joys of DIY Videography)
Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation “No, don’t do that. I don’t wanna do that. Stop that!”—actual quote from Rachel this week as we tried to film a simple video. Cut to: an accidental clip of the W 2nd St house project slowly spinning from sideways to upside down while both of us tried not to scream… Read more
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A New Voice, Stitched from the Quiet: Pele’s Perspective
This month, a new voice joins our pages. Not loud, not urgent, but present. Pele – some folks say Pell-ay, others Pell-ee; he doesn’t mind, he just likes being called –came from the drawer of forgotten things. A button here, a scrap of fabric there, stitched together by someone who didn’t know what to do, only that they needed Read more
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The Company We Keep: Building a Better Future, Together
By Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation Every project has a story behind it, and this one starts – like many do – with a few slightly crazy people who believed in something a little too big, a little too ambitious, and way too important to let go. Let’s rewind for a second. A few years ago, Read more
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Pellere – We’re Investing in Communities
By Selina Pedi-Smith, Founder, Pellere Foundation Throughout March we’ve talked about investment – not just in the financial sense, but in what we choose to care about, build, and sustain for the future. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that the best investments take time. They start as ideas, sometimes ambitious, sometimes simple. Read more
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Kicking Off a New Year
By Selina Pedi-Smith As we step into 2025, we’re reflecting on the progress made last year while laying the groundwork for what’s to come: a regional coalition all working toward the common goal of resilience and equitable community redevelopment. But progress doesn’t happen overnight. It begins with a vision, a plan, and the determination to Read more
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A Year of Firsts
By Selina Pedi-Smith As 2024 draws to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on a year filled with challenges, milestones, and plenty of lessons learned. At Pellere, this year has been a whirlwind of firsts: our first federal grant award, our first agency partnership, the launch of our first ambitious microgrid project, and our first Read more