Community CHEER

09/03/2026

Last Saturday, members of the Maple Tree Family Wellness Support Group attended the Ethiopian New Year Celebration at Montgomery College 🎉

A beautiful day of connection, visibility, and community pride!

Special appreciation to Takoma Park Mayor Talisha Searcy (Talisha Searcy ) for always showing up for our community. Her presence and words of encouragement at the event provided the Maple Tree Family Support Group with invaluable love and emotional support.🙏

Your continued commitment reminds our families that they are seen, valued, and supported.

09/02/2026

🎓💻 Our Maple Tree Family Wellness Support Group’s ESOL and Digital Literacy Weekly Zoom Training had a powerful start on Monday!

👏 39 registered participants

📚 30 ESOL participants

💻 26 Digital Literacy participants supported with Amharic language

Although scheduled for 6:00–8:30 PM, the participants’ enthusiasm, questions, and active participation continued until 9:00 PM!

Special thanks to Mily, Iyasu, Lahee (Coffee Owner), and Ayu for their valuable support! 🙏

08/31/2026

We had an amazing time partnering with The Civic Circle on Camp Piney Branch ❤️ Campers had a wonderful and fun time creating beautiful and meaningful artwork 🎨

Civic learning was not on break for the summer! We were delighted to join our partners, Community CHEER at Camp Piney Branch. Campers explored immigrant identities and communities through an interactive arts residency, where the kids created a collective flag out of individual ornaments and decorated stars, representing the coming together of the diverse backgrounds reflected in our immigrant-rich communities.

Thank you to Community CHEER for inviting us, and to The Takoma Foundation for making this civic arts residency possible through its Community Grant, which promotes community connection, youth empowerment, and inclusion.

08/28/2026

Exciting news!🧑‍💻 The Maple Tree Family Wellness Support Group Weekly Free Zoom Training Program begins Monday, August 31, 2026. Thank you to everyone who has already registered!

⏰ Weekly Schedule (6:00 PM – 8:30 PM):

✅ Mondays: ESOL & Digital Literacy Training

✅Thursdays: ESOL (Amharic Support)

ደስ የሚል ዜና!🧑‍💻 የMaple Tree የቤተሰብ ደህንነት ድጋፍ ቡድን ሳምንታዊ ነፃ የZoom ስልጠና ፕሮግራም ሰኞ August 31, 2026 ይጀምራል።አስቀድማችሁ ለተመዘገባችሁ በሙሉ እናመሰግናለን!

ይህ ስልጠና በእንግሊዝኛ እና በአማርኛ ሙሉ ድጋፍ ይደረግለታል።

⏰ የሳምንቱ መርሃ ግብር (6:00 PM – 8:30 PM)፦

✅ ሰኞ፦ እንግሊዝኛ ለሌሎች ቋንቋ ተናጋሪዎች (ESOL) እና የዲጂታል ክህሎት ስልጠና

✅ሐሙስ፦ እንግሊዝኛ ለሌሎች ቋንቋ ተናጋሪዎች (ESOL) በአማርኛ እገዛ

08/24/2026

On August 18th, the CHEER team had the honor of attending the graduation of the very first cohort of the Write Your Stories Educators training program led by Story Tapestries🎓

We also want to give a massive shoutout to Daniela (daughter of CHEER Community Ambassador Team CAT member Ana Argueta), who was one of the incredible teenagers to officially earn her 90-hour childcare certification!👏

Congratulations to all the graduates!🙌

08/22/2026

Yesterday, CHEER’s Community Ambassador Team (CAT) was thrilled to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new JoAnn Leleck Elementary School! 🏫✨

We were especially proud to celebrate this milestone with Maria Moran, former PTA Vice President and current CHEER CAT member. Her advocacy years ago played a huge role in shaping JoAnn Leleck into what it has become today👏

Seeing this beautiful building open just in time for the new school year is a true testament to what happens when our community comes together for its children😊

08/21/2026

Join LBHAT and CHEER for an Information Session on Tenants’ Rights and Legal Clinic at the Long Branch Community Center! 🏢

Talk with lawyers about lease agreements, repairs, evictions, or other concerns. Translation provided (English/Spanish).

Know your rights!💪

📅September 17, 6:00 p.m.

📍Long Branch Community Center - 8700 Piney Branch Rd., Silver Spring

¡Únete a LBHAT y CHEER en una Sesión Informativa sobre Derechos de Inquilinos y Clínica Legal en el Centro Comunitario Long Branch!🏢

Conversa con abogados sobre contratos de alquiler, reparaciones, desalojos u otras preocupaciones. ¡Traducción proporcionada¡ (inglés/español)

¡Conoce tus derechos!💪

📅17 de septiembre, 6:00 p.m. 

📍Centro Comunitario Long Branch- 8700 Piney Branch Rd., Silver Spring

08/20/2026

Huge congratulations to the amazing early childhood educators who just graduated through Story Tapestries’ program (part of the MD EARN Initiative)! 🎓❤️We had such a wonderful time attending🎉

The first cohort of young educators in Story Tapestries’ EARN Maryland workforce training program completed 16 weeks of learning, professional development, and preparation for careers in early childhood education.

08/20/2026

We are beyond pleased to announce that CHEER has been awarded two FY27 Community Quality of Life grants by the City of Takoma Park The City of Takoma Park!

This generous funding will allow us to deepen our roots and expand vital, culturally centered support for our community:

✅$18,000 for the Takoma Park Culturally Appropriate Food Distribution Program: Providing monthly vouchers to 80 households, empowering families to directly purchase familiar, nourishing foods from Crossroads Farmers Market and Adarash Market.

✅$12,000 for the Maple Tree Family Wellness Support Group Pilot Program: Funding workforce development, weekly group learning sessions, individual coaching, case navigation, peer support, and community dialogue tailored primarily for our Ethiopian immigrant community.

A huge thank you to the City of Takoma Park for believing in our mission and investing in the health, dignity, and wellbeing of our families😊