Dear Friends of the Uni,
A couple of nice stats: in 2016, the Uni will deliver the most number of programming days and the least number of email newsletters in our five year history!
We've missed you too, but I'm proud to announce that the Uni Project has not only taken off—we are soaring. We just need a bigger budget to hire communications staff to clog your inbox. (Kidding.) Instead, Leslie has delegated this newsletter to me, Sam. And she gave me a deadline of midnight to click send. So let's get to it.
My message today: please make a donation to support a cool extension of our season into the fall with special residencies in Harlem and Chinatown. Look, you know this fall is going to be a hot mess of politics and division. Fight back, and help us put beautiful reading rooms across NYC! People from all walks of life will quietly gather, read, draw, listen, learn and feel hopeful about what a city can be. Role models, right? Hundreds will join us and thousands see us—it makes a real difference. It's where I'll be hanging out, for sure. Please donate generously.
Midnight approaches, so here's the executive summary on the year thus far: thanks to your support, we’ve been in public an average of five days each week since April, and we're on track to hit a record 140 days of programming across the city. 85% of our deployments are in low-income areas, and all in response to requests from community groups and city agencies. Outside of New York, we’ve built and shipped Uni infrastructure to fifteen libraries and other organizations so that they can create their own pop-up reading rooms. To hit these numbers, we hired nine, terrific part-time staff this year, although no communications director...
Enough numbers! Here are some quick ways for you to get involved:
- Visit our DRAW cart in Chinatown and our READ cart in Harlem this fall. (Right after you donate to make it possible!)
- Volunteer—it’s a great way to meet New Yorkers and hang out with Leslie. I'm there!
- Help us find companies to support the Uni Project. No other nonprofit this cool reaches so many NYC communities. Run it by your boss, and have her call me.
Thanks for reading this far—I appreciate your support in my new role as communications serf! This fall, I will also be driving the Uni truck, loading carts, and taking photos. Of course, Leslie will be at every deployment too, straightening the books, talking with all comers, and sweeping up litter to make sure the Uni is a beautiful addition to every single place we visit. We are your executive team! See you on the street—make a place for learning.
Sam (and Leslie)
The Uni Project
www.theuniproject.org
A former staff person wrote me yesterday: “you guys gave me a chance to do something meaningful and contribute back to communities similar to my own." Best staff and volunteers ever.
Filmmakers from France made a video about the Uni. As for domestic releases, we were on NY1.
I bared by my soul and revealed Uni trade secrets in a piece for Medium.
We partnered with NYC DOT to activate plazas in underserved areas of the city.
We expanded an effort to reach parks in underserved areas of the city in partnership with NYC Parks.
With support from Zen Digital and help from MIT students, we're bringing a new SOLVE program to the street.
We’ve reached 61 different neighborhoods of the city so far, and we still have a wait list of requests. Leslie hates the wait list. Make it disappear by donating!
And hey, if you don't live in New York, you can see new Uni gear on the street in Boston, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Maryland, Georgia, Calgary, Kazakhstan, Panama City, Australia, and more places. We've been on a building spree. Made in America.
Lots more on our blog. And we post daily on social media. Onward!
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