Sparking Hope When Brooklyn Needs It Most

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At our 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Breakfast yesterday, over 400 dedicated New Yorkers came out to the Barclays Center to support racial justice and lasting change — sparking hope at a time when our communities need it most. We hope you left excited and energized to do even more good for Brooklyn, and as we enter the 9th year of the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize (applications are now open!), your support matters more than ever before.

“The 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize winning nonprofits embody the greatness of Brooklyn in every way,” said Dr. Jocelynne Rainey, President and CEO of Brooklyn Org. “At a time when nonprofits have been rocked by federal funding freezes, rescinded government grants, and an onslaught of executive orders and legislation threatening our capacity to provide essential services to children, families, and older adults, these five nonprofits represent the values that unite us as Brooklynites – diversity, inclusivity, equity, justice, belonging, compassion. Brooklyn Org is proud to honor these organizations as a sign of our unwavering commitment to supporting our Brooklyn community and the nonprofits that are the backbones of our neighborhoods.”

We celebrated the five winners of the $100,000 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize, organizations defined by an ingenuity that is distinctly, unapologetically Brooklyn: Brooklyn Book Bodega, Brownsville Community Culinary Center, Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS), Good Call, and Technology for Families in Need (TechFIN). It was a morning filled with love, tears, and joy, and the stories shared by our partners underscore the urgency of our collective work and the critical importance of our borough’s nonprofit community.

We hope you will receive their remarks as a call to action to deepen your commitment to Brooklyn. Please consider an additional gift to support this vital grantmaking program; your gift enables us to invest $600,000 each year to ignite the work of our winners and finalists:

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None of this would be possible without our incredible partners, including our Spark Prize Committee who selected our winners, and our Board of Directors for their tireless commitment to dream bigger for Brooklyn.

Thank you to our generous sponsors for leading the way to our $600,000 goal, including Debevoise and Plimpton, Stardust and Lawanna Kimbro, Peter Furci and Suzanne Elio, Michael Gillespie and Lauren Glant, Hilary and Edwin Jager, the Scout Fund, Diane and Joseph Steinberg, and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.

Brooklyn Book Bodega

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“Being recognized by the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize is incredibly special because it validates what we’ve always believed: when we come together as a community to support youth literacy, we’re strengthening New York for all of us,” said Rebecca Cohen and Seema Aghera, the co-founders of the Brooklyn Book Bodega. “Having books in all the different spaces and places where kids spend their time is transformative. We’ve seen the impact firsthand, from mothers reconnecting with their children through reading to teachers telling us their students have become the strongest readers in their school. The Spark Prize will help us expand our outreach and programming to create more strong Brooklyn readers.”

Accepting the award was Leolyn Scott, Brooklyn Book Bodega Ambassador and NYC Educator, who shared about the impact the organization has had on her classroom:

“As a teacher with 28 students—including 11 English language learners—I needed books that could meet my scholars at their varying reading levels and ignite their love for literacy. That’s when I discovered Brooklyn Book Bodega, and they completely transformed my classroom…Because of Brooklyn Book Bodega, my students—regardless of their background or reading level—experience the joy of holding a book that truly speaks to them.”

Brownsville Community Culinary Center

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“At the Brownsville Community Culinary Center, we know that good food can spark powerful positive changes in the health and overall well-being of people, so we are thrilled to be honored with the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize, which is rooted in the idea of sparking transformational change in communities,” said Alexis Aquino, Executive Director and Executive Chef at Brownsville Community Culinary Center. “From our culinary training program that opens career pathways, to our Food is Medicine initiative, we are excited to use the Spark Prize to expand our reach in Brownsville and increase the longevity and quality of life of our neighbors.”

Accepting the award was Sous Chef and Kitchen Manager and Culinary Training Program Graduate Markees Pruitt, who shared:

“I walked through the doors of BCCC not knowing where my life was headed. I had just returned home after seven years of incarceration, and like so many people in that position, I was stepping into a world that wasn’t exactly welcoming. I knew I wanted to rebuild, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know if the opportunities would be there. BCCC changed that. It gave me not just a place to learn but a place to belong. And the crazy part? Even now, after years of working my way up to being an instructor and a leader in that same kitchen, I still look at my journey and think—wow, I really did that.”

Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS)

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“This recognition from the Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will help us increase our visibility across Brooklyn and allow us to reach even more New Yorkers facing food insecurity and homelessness,”  said Peter Endriss, Executive Director, Community Help in Park Slope (CHiPS). “Our success has always come from the community – our volunteers and supporters who keep our doors open and our meals hot – and the Spark Prize strengthens our ability to continue this vital work for the next 50 years.”

Kxalima Foss, CHiPS Resident, accepted the award, sharing:

“Just a couple of years ago, my life was a whirlwind…I was released from jail—wrongfully incarcerated due to circumstances beyond my control involving my son’s father. With nowhere to turn, I was homeless, trying to figure out my next steps while carrying the weight of uncertainty…[but] when I moved into the CHiPS Frances Residence, it was more than just shelter—it was a home and a fresh start. Without this place, I don’t know where I would be today. Being at CHiPS gave me more than a roof over my head; it gave me stability—a sense of safety and grounding that I didn’t have before…Having the space to receive mental, physical and emotional support has been life-changing.”

Good Call

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“We are so honored to receive the 2025 Brooklyn Org Spark Prize. Good Call began as a hotline connecting arrested individuals to lawyers and has evolved to use technology, community engagement, and policy advocacy to advance the idea that access to justice isn’t just a privilege, but a fundamental right that everyone deserves,” said Jelani Anglin, co-founder and CEO of Good Call. “The Spark Prize will help us invest additional resources towards our goal of providing free, immediate access to legal support to empower our communities and promote a fairer justice system for all.”

Danielle Krumholz, Good Call Hotline Attorney, accepted the award, sharing:

“Almost half of Good Call’s callers—48% to be exact—are in police custody at the time they reach out…These moments are critical, and having access to legal representation results in better outcomes, not simply for the person being arrested, but for that person’s child who depends on them, who they need on a daily basis. It means that the person’s elderly mother no longer spends sleepless nights thinking about whether her son is in harm’s way. And having good legal representation means that the person simply stands a better chance of resolving their case in a way more favorable than had they remained detained and often alone.”

Technology for Families in Need (TechFIN)

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“We are thrilled that Brooklyn Org has recognized the value of our work using donated corporate computers to create digital equity for low-income families across New York City,” said Nigel Frankson, co-founder and Chairman of TechFIN. The Brooklyn Org Spark Prize will allow us to help transform the lives of moms who cannot fully access job opportunities or health care services and their kids who are forced to complete homework assignments on their phone all because they don’t have a computer in the home.”

Accepting the award was Markayla Theus, a TechFIN Computer Recipient who shared:

“I am profoundly grateful for TechFIN’s unwavering commitment to bridging the digital divide. By revitalizing donated computers and providing them to low-income families at no cost, TechFIN has transformed countless lives, including my own. Their sustainable and scalable approach not only empowers students to excel academically but also fosters a more inclusive and democratic digital future for all by enabling access to ideas, information and opportunity.”

SPECIAL THANKS