The Ujima Collective was created in 2020 by a group of staff, Black families and community partners led by Amelia Allen Sherwood in response to the ways COVID disproportionately impacted Black and Brown people. The concept of this mutual aid effort was birthed out of a Kwanzaa meetup at ECMS. Ujima is the third principle of Kwanzaa and means collective work and responsibility. 

We have people in our community that have experienced death in their families, illness, job loss, loss of their home and people that are struggling in a number of ways we don't know. In this spirit, we will continue the work to honor the needs and growing call for support.

** People from inside and outside the ECMS community are welcome, to contribute offerings to the Ujima Collective. **

If you would like to contribute to the Ujima collective, you can submit your offering through our Paypal link: available on our website https://elmcitymontessori.org/donate/. When submitting your donation, be sure to indicate “ Ujima Collective” in the “special instructions” text box. This will ensure that the funds will be used solely for the collective. You do NOT need to complete this form to make a financial donation.

Please email Sade our Anti-Bias & Anti-Racism Director with any questions at: Sade.Jean-Jacques@elmcitymontessori.org