Help us BLOOM

The Charles Roundtree Bloom Project creates healing spaces in the outdoors for youth and families impacted by incarceration. The Bloom Project identifies mass incarceration and environmental injustice (including climate change) as two of the most pressing issues of our time. We seek to address these issues through the direct services we provide to our participants, popular education toward building a global movement for socio-ecological justice, and nurturing the next generation of socially and environmentally conscious leaders. 



THE ISSUES

In the United States, nearly 1 out of every 100 people are in prison or jail. In Texas, where The Bloom Project conducts most of its programming, the rates of incarceration are even more alarming. Texas incarcerates more people than any independent democratic country and leads in spending on prisons and jails. There are nearly 700,000 people under correctional supervision in Texas. Children are the "Hidden Victims" of mass incarceration. More than 5 million children in the U.S. have had a parent in state or federal prison at some point in their lives, including 477,000 in Texas. Texas' spending on incarceration has grown five times faster than spending growth on elementary and secondary education over the past 30 years. While incarceration is pervasive, not all communities are affected the same. Parental incarceration disproportionately affects children of color. In 2008, 1 in 9 Black children had a parent imprisoned, while 1 in 28 Latine children and 1 in 57 White children had a parent incarcerated. Overall, low-income communities are the most affected. The systemic consequences of having an incarcerated parent include social and emotional challenges, critical health outcomes, housing instability, financial hardship, lower educational opportunities and outcomes, and changing caregivers. Yet, there are hardly any support structures for youth impacted by incarceration. 



At the same time, climate change and ongoing environmental issues are negatively impacting the health and stability of communities and ecosystems across the globe. While anyone can be affected by environmental/climate disasters, low-income communities of color are disproportionately affected. Climate change is especially a concern in Texas, as it also leads the country in spending weather and climate disasters. Texas is particularly impacted by storms, flooding, droughts, and heat waves. For instance, in 2021, Texas was severely affected by the historical North American winter storm leaving millions without water or electricity and causing over 200 deaths. Many Bloom Project families were without electricity and water during that storm, and we responded to our community by providing direct mutual aid to ensure our families were warm and had what they needed. 



OUR SOLUTION

Bloom Project facilitates healing-centered outdoor experiences and socio-environmental education to support our youth and their families in envisioning new possibilities for themselves, for their communities, and for our planet. We support our participants' health by reconnecting with healing power of nature and providing education and support that helps them with social-emotional development and prepare them for social-environmental careers. We do a wide range of activities including kayaking, surfing, hiking, camping, backpacking, rock climbing, gardening, and art. We work with youth ages 4-21 and their caregivers in San Antonio. All of our youth and families are low-income and live in urban neighborhoods, and the majority are people of color. 



Our approach to healing and education improves the lives of our youth and their families. Researchers have found that spending time outdoors improves cardiovascular, respiratory, and immune systems. Along with the physiological benefits, studies show being in nature increases self-esteem, lowers stress, reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, can improve cognition for children with attention deficits, and creates a space for increased social engagement. Outside, people are healthier, happier, and more connected. Some healthcare providers are using these scientific findings to give "nature prescriptions" for various physical and mental health issues. In the Bloom Project, we are healing our relationship to the land, healing ourselves, and healing our relationships with one another. The earth is our ancestor, kin, teacher, and comrade in creating spaces where we can breathe. 



OUR VISION & IMPACT

We envision a world where youth have access to the resources and support they need to bloom to their full potential and have a sense of agency and the tools they need to become leaders in their communities and in the world.



Our socio-environmental justice curriculum and exposure to various outdoor activities create a deep love and respect for the land. We want our youth to understand they are an important part of conversations surrounding social and environmental issues and solutions, and we support this through our critical socio-environmental curriculum. Our program helps our youth and families feel that they belong in spaces people of color have historically been excluded from, such as National Parks and outdoor recreational activities. Not only do we prepare them to be agents of change in their communities, but we provide them with the time and space to focus on their wellness and healing. This often looks like bringing in mental health professionals during our retreats, providing restorative circles during our camping trips, and creating a safe environment where our participants can share and bond in the outdoors.



Our youth and families often describe their experiences with Bloom as peaceful, educational, and, most importantly, joyful. In 2025, we hope to gain the financial support and resources to become a non-profit, reach more youth, create more adventures, and deepen our impact not just in Texas but nationwide. If you’d like to learn more about the ways you can help the Bloom Project grow, visit our website at www.crbloomproject.org. 



WHO WE ARE

We, Ki'Amber Thompson and Gabriela Lopez (Co-Founders and Co-Executive Directors), intimately know the traumatic effects of having incarcerated caregivers as well as the healing power of nature. 



Ki'Amber is the visionary behind the Bloom Project, taking it from idea to pilot in 2019. They are also a Sociology PhD candidate at the University of California in Santa Cruz. Ki’Amber was raised on the West and East sides of San Antonio, where she experienced the impacts of incarceration and environmental inequity. While at Pomona College in California, Ki'Amber found healing and sense of purpose through transformative outdoor experiences. She started the Bloom Project as a way to care for youth like her and share a path toward healing. A month after Ki'Amber came up with the idea for the Bloom Project, her younger cousin, Charles "Chop" Roundtree Jr, was murdered by San Antonio police while sitting in his living room. He was only 18 and did not have to chance to bloom to his full potential. Ki'Amber named the program in honor him. Ki'Amber created the Bloom Project for youth just like him. Chop embodied joy and play and his legacy lives on through the work of the program. Ki'Amber has done social and environmental justice research, storytelling, and organizing across the globe, including North and South America and Southeast Asia. They previously co-led a youth water education and testing program in Flint with Fresh Water Future through the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at the University of Michigan, which ultimately led to the first community lab in Flint. She also worked at the Ocean Conservancy through the RAY Fellowship, where she contributed to environmental justice storytelling and policy initiatives. Ki’Amber's work has been recognized locally and nationally, and she has received several awards, including Grist 50 Fixers and EE 30 Under 30. 



In 2022, Gabriela joined the Bloom Project team and helped expand the program to include more programming for elementary-aged youth and caregivers. Gabriela has been instrumental in developing Bloom Project 2.0, or the current iteration of the organization, where she now serves as the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director. Gabriela grew up in the southside of San Antonio and later decided to teach at her Alma Mater for several years. In her upbringing and experience as an educator, she realized the drastic effects poverty, incarceration, and over-policing had on a young person’s mental health. More specifically, she learned how underserved youth of color are in the city's South, West, and East sides. She began to implement journaling, restorative practices, and mindfulness in her classroom and witnessed the benefits of leading with empathy. In her personal life, Gabby takes care of her own mental health by gardening, trail running, and finding simple ways to connect with the outdoors. She loves creating the same type of therapeutic experiences for youth, as well as educating them about social and environmental justice issues. In her role as Co-Executive Director of the Bloom Project her goal is to assist the youth in gaining the necessary tools towards healing from traumas and helping them become advocates for themselves and their community. Gabby was awarded the Camelback Fellowship for her leadership and development of the Bloom Project, which now, because of her contributions, not only serves youth but the entire family system. 

Charles Roundtree Bloom Project is a fiscal sponsee of Fiscal Sponsorship Allies. By donating, you agree to the Fiscal Sponsorship Allies Donor Terms & Conditions found at https://fiscalsponsorshipallies.org/donor-terms-conditions/