“Anybody and everybody who supports the mission of Urban Triage,” is the invite Lorissa Bañuelos is extending for Urban Triage’s Annual Summer Kick-Back Event with a 90’s vs. 2000’s theme on Saturday, July 30, 3-7 p.m. at Penn Park. Bañuelos, the director of marketing at Urban Triage, expressed the importance of the event and how the decision around its theme came about.
“We center people who identify as Black and we center Black culture. This theme was created because it’s a reflection of that. It’s a reflection of the pop culture, as well as the history,” Bañuelos said. “The history that people who identify as Black can claim.”
Celebrating the unique histories and defining cultural pieces of the decades is a goal that Urban Triage is looking to achieve by highlighting their connective elements with the 90’s vs. 2000’s theme.
“That was prime music right there,” Bañuelos said. “They don’t make music like that anymore, so I think it’s going to be a very nostalgic type of venue to bring the community together. It will definitely connect a lot of people.”
In addition to anybody looking to support Urban Triage and enjoy a day of food, games, and music, the event is looking to give back to those who help hands-on with Urban Triage as well as the community around the Penn Park area.
“We’ve invited our volunteers, who volunteer for our various programs, and our supporters and donors,” said Bañuelos. “Mainly this is to celebrate the community and the surrounding area.”
Attending the Kick-Back will also provide an opportunity to check out local businesses and vendors in the Black Madison community as well as provide opportunities to connect with organizations and other individuals.
“It’s about supporting local businesses, local vendors, and local artists,” Bañuelos said. “We have everything from embroidery to a little boy who makes lemonade, and he has his own lemonade stand so he will be there. We have organizations that center the needs of the community. I believe One City School is going to be there as well as other organizations who will be able to provide resources.”
Additionally, people will be able to learn more about the work of Urban Triage and the various resources and programs they provide for the community. Bañuelos is anticipating the chance for the community to be able to connect and to hear about what Urban Triage has to offer.
“I’m most excited about the community engagement and reaching people who might not necessarily know what Urban Triage is and all the services that we provide. It’s about reaching those who may be in need. That’s what I’m looking forward to…We provide rental assistance, we provide an initiative called unhoused neighbors where we actually have had people who are homeless come to our doorstep, and then we arrange housing for them. We have trauma-based healing programs where you’re identifying the source of your trauma, and then figuring out how one navigates that. We also have our agriculture program that really took off this year.”
Anybody who is looking to get involved with Urban Triage need not look any further than getting into contact directly with whatever contributions they hope to make.
“I would encourage them to reach out to us directly,” Bañuelos said.”Whether it’s Brandi [Grayson], our founder and CEO, or whether it’s me, director of marketing, or whether it’s our agriculture team. We have email info on our website, urbantriage.org. We also have plenty of volunteer opportunities for every schedule and every lifestyle. We just encourage people to reach out because we will always make time to connect and tell people more about our organization.”
To check out the work of Urban Triage and find more information about the upcoming Kick-Back Event, visit their website here.
