Breakout Foundation

Still feeling inspired by our New York City Youth in Food Justice Summit at the Brooklyn Grange Sunset Park Rooftop Farm on Thursday, April 9. With support from @breakoutfoundation we brought together more than 60 young people and thought leaders from NYC nutrition programs. We shared a meal, took in the beautiful view, and created vision boards on food justice prompts. Discussion on existing and potential collaborations was lively, and participants left feeling energized about our work together in a moment of great need around food and nutrition security. Thank you to co-collaborators Kyle Murray and Anya Pathania and to all who supported and came out! @nypcommunity @sylviacenter @grownyc @farmtopeople @nycfood @lehmancuny @columbia.ihn @chips4thave @brooklyngrange @nychealthy and so many more 💗 Photography by Victor Cruz

Foursquare? Friendship bracelets? Team Flags? A bunch of whimsical adults throwing it back to Recess? Check, check, check. It was @chapter.nyc and @recessatwork ’s first collab and we had a BLAST. THANK YOU to our hosts at @anew_hq , our supporters at @breakoutfoundation Builder Fund, the @seenycofficial community for showing up and showing out, and @sashabphoto for the beautiful 📸 Stay tuned for the next @recessatwork & @chapter.nyc collab! #breakout #breakoutfoundation #seenyc

Still energized from the IBX-focused walking tour I led today through Flatbush ✨ We kicked things off with quick intros before exploring the future Flatbush IBX stop area together. From there, we hopped on dollar vans and made our way down Flatbush, ending at Risbo for a thoughtful debrief and good food. This wasn’t just a walk—it was a space to imagine what equitable transit-oriented development could look like in our communities. With the proposed Interborough Express (IBX) set to transform connectivity across Brooklyn and Queens, the conversation centered on how we ensure this investment benefits long-term residents, workers, and small businesses—without displacement. We dug into big questions:
How can IBX unlock opportunities for childcare, community ownership, and local businesses?
What does it take to build a corridor where people can truly thrive in place? Grateful for everyone who showed up, shared ideas, and brought their perspective to the table. And a special thank you to Breakout Foundation for your support in making this gathering possible 💛 #IBX #Flatbush #EquitableDevelopment #TransitJustice #CommunityVoices

The difference between a stranger and a friend or neighbor? Love. It’s all around us. On February 10th, we hosted a Modern Village Valentine gathering. The location felt serendipitous— nestled inside @strangersproj , tucked across the hall from an “I ♥️NY” store in the shadow of the WTC memorial. We gathered, a gaggle of thirty to eat heart-shaped pizza and put on our love goggles to find love in our daily life—when we notice it, how we bring it, and the sometimes unlikely people and places we find it. By the end of the evening— we made nearly 100 valentines to honor everyday love. 💌 Valentines went out to: 
❣️neighbors and nephews, 
❣️baristas and birth families, 
❣️@nycparks and local shops,
❣️lovers and strangers. It was sweet, sparkly, a little bit silly. But also kind of radical. Living into what bell hook’s called a “love ethic” is muscular, but can be exposing with its earnestness. Creating a space to lean into that was special. Grateful for a partner in delight and co-facilitator @exa.kut to draw out the magic. Big love to our host @strangersproj project and helping hands Shazia, Matthew, and Bran. Made possible (and delicious) by a gathering grant from @breakoutfoundation and @seenycofficial . After, we scattered out into a snowy Valentine’s week meditating on a more capacious love. Ready to see it wherever we went—bopping around on city blocks: 🍊The Bodega owner carefully placing oranges ☕️The Barista who knows your name 🏡The Neighbor who shoveled your sidewalk 🐶The dogs who you look forward to every morning 🤳🏻The silly FaceTime from your sweet nieces and nephews 💬The encouraging voice note from a friends 👋🏻The hellos and the help. The moments and meal trains. You know, the village. #love #valentine #gathering

We Build the Block 💫🖋️📚 #Salon50 is a gathering rooted in curiosity, an invitation to expand our moral imagination and explore the questions that shape community, care, and safety. Thank you to 2x published author, mother, wife, thought partner & hospital responder @simplythebestwon whose life-story-turned into a book + reminded us that affordable childcare is not just support, it’s a safety strategy… and that women move through the world as quiet superheroes every day. Appreciation to Assemblywoman @emilyassembly for reminding us the power and impact of choosing budgets and policies that nurture dignity, stability, and real safety. Grateful to @kevgraham_ @riri.grahamm and the @kokomonyc family for holding space that felt as beautiful as it was intentional. Deep gratitude to @breakout Foundation: Builders Fund for sponsoring this Salon50 and making it possible to gift books to our community and stock our little Free Library in Brownsville. 🔑 And to everyone who arrived with excitement, love, and hope in their hearts, you are the magic of this space. Stay tuned… Salon50 returns in June. ✨ 🎥 @izakhaze

💜✨ Care, Career & Connections Recap ✨💜 Even with the weather working against us, we showed up and did exactly what our girls needed us to do. Nothing could stop the love, mentorship, and intention that filled the room. This luncheon was proof of the power of community. Our girls walked away with new connections, fresh confidence, and expanded possibilities for their futures—and that is why we do this work. Thank you to every mentor, partner, volunteer, and supporter who stood with us and made the day so meaningful. When we come together with purpose, our girls rise. 💜

Yesterday’s conversation was rooted in power and access—how we experience it, navigate it, and sometimes have to create it for ourselves. At The 876 Project, we hosted Breaking Bread | Stories & Community and created personalized prompt cards for each guest to help guide the evening’s conversations forward. Simple by design, intentional in practice—the prompts became the heartbeat of the room. Sharing a few of the prompts that sparked reflection, storytelling, and connection around the table. Which one resonates with you? What would your answer be? And a huge thank you again to the @breakout @breakoutfoundation for supporting this gathering through the Builder Microgrant and believing in the power of intimate, community-rooted spaces.

Last night was a reminder of what The 876 Project is rooted in: creating space for people to gather honestly, slow down, and connect through shared experience. Breaking Bread | Stories & Community brought creatives, advocates, and community voices together around a simple prompt on power and access—and it became the heartbeat of the room. The conversation was generous, reflective, and deeply human. Grateful to the Breakout Foundation for Builder Microgrant support that helped make this gathering possible. Thank you to @barvalentinanyc for hosting us. Proud of what we’re building at 876—one table at a time. 🍞✨

🎉 Congratulations to ALL the See NYC attendees that were awarded with @breakoutfoundation ’s Builder Fund Grant! Here’s a highlight of a few of the gatherings happening in the city!

Last weekend’s Breakout Builder Fund gathering was so connected and engaged that I genuinely forgot to take many photos and videos. And honestly, that feels like a win. When people are fully present, listening without judgment, and connecting beyond titles and job descriptions, the phones naturally go down. Together with Steph of @paradigm_expansions , we created space around questions like:
"If money were not an issue, what truly lights you up?"
"What would your most successful future self tell you right now, and what would your past self tell your future self?" 
"What do you want your 2026 to look like, not as a resolution, but as an intentional choice?" Most people had never met before, yet the conversation unfolded like a personal development mastermind disguised as a networking event. People shared goals, fears, hopes, and real-life reflections in a way that felt honest, human, and deeply supportive. Grateful to @michaelxfarber @breakout and the @breakoutfoundation all my fellow Breakers worldwide, and everyone who showed up despite the winter storm. This is the kind of community that reminds me why real connection still matters. This experience lit a spark. More intentional gatherings are coming.@duya_wellness #BreakoutFoundation #BuilderFund #IntentionalCommunity

Last week, thanks to @breakout , we hosted a vision boarding gathering for Upper East Siders. ✨ We asked everyone to imagine what they wanted their village to look like, and one thing was clear: we’re all craving neighborhood community. Grateful to have met some amazing neighbors making a big impact on this city. Here’s to more ‘five minute friends’ and neighborhood ‘crafternoons.’ Our next one will be in February. DM us if you’d like an invite! @breakoutfoundation #uppereastside

Extensions — Where strength meets preparation. Our ongoing series combines both stretching & climbing encouraging people to feel comfortable being uncomfortable. Being on the wall is the same as playing chess, mapping out routes, trying different tactics and thinking three steps ahead; except we get to do it while our community encourages us. S/o to @nikenyc for getting everyone geared up, to our friends over at @breakout for supporting the night & @vital.westharlem.uppereast for giving @dominguezcorporation a home to host the biggest indoor POC event uptown 📸 : @kat.loissa @r0selyncabral