Akron Community Foundation, City of Akron announce grants to revitalize local neighborhoods

AKRON, Ohio (July 1, 2014) – Akron Community Foundation and the City of Akron announced more than $200,000 in grants to help local residents improve their community through the Neighborhood Partnership Program.

In total, $226,250 will go to 55 projects throughout greater Akron. Grants range from projects that beautify local neighborhoods through landscaping to initiatives that provide children with after-school activities like basketball programs and music lessons. The funding targets neighborhoods from Summit Lake to Ellet to Goodyear Heights.

“The City of Akron and Akron Community Foundation are committed to improving Akron neighborhoods through the Neighborhood Partnership Program,” said Mayor Don Plusquellic. “These grants help our neighborhood-based organizations improve life for our residents by providing funds to small but effective quality-of-life programs, including vacant lot cleanups, tutoring and after-school programs for children, festivals, and neighborhood events for residents of all ages, among many other things.”

The Neighborhood Partnership Program is a collaboration between Akron Community Foundation and the City of Akron’s Department of Planning and Urban Development. It funds grassroots, citizen-led initiatives that strive to revitalize and reinvent local neighborhoods. Each year, the community foundation commits $100,000 as well as grant-making assistance to the program, and Akron City Council chooses the recipients from the dozens of applications received.

Since its founding in 1999, the Neighborhood Partnership Program has approved more than $3.3 million in grants to improve the community, including the following grants awarded in 2014:

BEAUTIFICATION INITIATIVES

Centenary United Methodist Church, for Operation Springboard, a beautification project for inner-city vacant homes and land, $1,550

Ellet Women's Club, to maintain the hanging flower baskets on Canton Road, and for a community bulletin board on East Market Street, $7,500

Upson/Jewett Neighborhood Watch, for a beautification project that brings senior citizens and at-risk youth together to design and maintain flower planters on Upson Street, $4,000

COMMUNITY GARDENS

Brookshire Garden Group, for a community garden that revitalizes a once-vacant lot in West Akron, $2,000

East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation, to create a “pocket park” that revitalizes the vacant lot at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Hart Street, $3,500

East South Street Neighborhood Watch/Akron Bible Church, for the Island Community Gardens in South Akron, $1,500

Firestone Park Home & Garden Club, to plant and maintain the Firestone Park Peace Garden and for a Garden Club newsletter, $500

Glendale Community Garden, to revitalize the historic Glendale Steps and to create a rain garden demonstration site at the Glendale/Maple Street Triangle, $3,800

Habitat for Humanity of Summit County, to support a handicapped-accessible community garden in South Akron where the agency’s partner families can grow their own food, $1,200

Let’s Grow Akron, to support children’s community gardens in the Summit Lake and Lane Field neighborhoods, and to teach inner-city residents how to prepare healthy meals, $7,500

NEOhaus Institute, for the Mason Park and Adolph Street community gardens, and for a “farm-to-school” program at Mason Community Learning Center, $5,000

COMMUNITY-BUILDING INITIATIVES

East Market Street United Church of Christ, to support Akron Safety Town, which teaches children important safety measures such as crossing the street and calling 911, $4,000

Fathers and Sons of Northeast Ohio, for fatherhood education classes in Kenmore that encourage men to play an active role in their children’s lives, $750

Firestone Park Citizens Council, for neighborhood holiday events that highlight local businesses and celebrate the residents of Ward 7, $6,000

RIGHT – Residents Improving Goodyear Heights Together, for community-building events, garden maintenance, and a bimonthly newsletter, $7,500

West Hill Neighborhood Organization, for two neighborhood events, beautification and a newsletter, $5,000

Williams Challenge, for the Man2Man Fatherhood Initiative, which helps at-risk men become a positive influence in their children’s lives, $2,500

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

Akron African-American Cultural Association, for the annual African-American Cultural Festival at Lock 3, which showcases local performers and highlights community resources by offering free health screenings and employment support, $7,500

Akron Community Service Center and Urban League, for Elegant Evenings, a dinner-dance for senior citizens that fosters healthy social interactions between seniors and youth volunteers, $2,000

Blessed Trinity Parish, for a fellowship program that offers entertainment, lunch, and aging education to senior citizens in North Hill, $5,000

Canal Park Condominium Owners Association, for a community picnic that builds positive relationships among neighbors in this inner-city development, $500

Charisma Community Connection, for the sixth annual Fathers Walk, in which fathers all over Summit County show their support for their children’s education by walking them to school, $2,500

DeBord's 19th Annual Community Halloween Party, for a family-friendly community Halloween party in Kenmore, $3,000

East Akron Unity Inc., for Jam Fest, a free community music festival that promotes unity, wellness and pride among residents near David Hill Community Learning Center, $2,000

Greater Akron Laos Association, for two Laotian community events in South Akron that foster cultural pride, $1,000

Greater Bethel Community Development Center, for the “Past Unforgotten V” black history celebration in East Akron, $6,000

Greater Bethel Community Development Center, for a community jubilee celebration in East Akron that promotes unity among neighbors and builds awareness of local health and education resources, $6,000

Heart to Heart Family Support Center, for the National Night Out Against Crime event in the Rosemary/Arlington neighborhood of East Akron, $2,000

Hereford/Highland Block Watch, for a newsletter and community-building events in the Highland Square neighborhood, $4,000

Highland Square Neighborhood Association, for the 2014 Porch Rokr Festival, a one-day music and arts festival that showcases local musicians and builds relationships among neighbors in Highland Square, $7,500

Kenmore Board of Trade, for holiday and seasonal events that instill community pride in Kenmore residents, $5,000

Kenmore Community Council Inc., for the annual Kenmore Community Days Festival, $5,000

Mountain of the Lord Fellowship, for the National Night Out Against Crime event in West Akron, $2,000

North Hill Community House, for the National Night Out Against Crime event in North Hill, $2,000

Truly Reaching You Ministries, for the National Night Out Against Crime event in Highland Square, $2,000

West Akron Community Organization, for the West Akron Community Day Festival and parade, $4,000

YOUTH PROGRAMS

Alchemy Inc., for a mentoring program that uses myths, writing and music to engage urban adolescent males at Innes, Litchfield and Buchtel community learning centers, $7,500

Baldwin Wallace University, to support a music literacy camp for elementary school students in the Buchtel cluster, $4,700

Christian Fellowship Basketball League, for a mentoring-based youth basketball program in Kenmore and West Akron, $5,000

College for Kids, to introduce inner-city youth in fourth through sixth grades to potential career paths through hands-on activities and field trips, $6,000

Delta Academy/GEMS Youth Group, for a mentoring program that develops science, math and social awareness skills in adolescent girls in the Buchtel cluster, $3,000

First Grace United Church of Christ, to provide free vocal music lessons to inner-city children, $3,000

Good Shepherd Athletic Club, for the youth boxing program, which offers a safe and positive recreation environment for children in North Akron, $7,500

Heart to Heart Family Support Center, to create a leadership youth council for students living in East Akron, $2,000

International Soap Box Derby Inc., to expand the Gravity Racing Challenge program in Akron Public Schools by providing Derby education kits to 12 fifth-grade classrooms, $5,000

Leggett Community Learning Center, to create a community mural that will be permanently displayed at the school’s entrance, $5,000

LINKS Community & Family Services, for the Boys & Girls Afterschool Academy, which provides tutoring and family support services to at-risk students at Robinson, Mason and Leggett community learning centers, $2,000

North Hill Community House, to provide after-school and summer enrichment activities for inner-city youth that emphasize education, character and leadership development, $7,500

Opportunity Parish Ecumenical Neighborhood Ministry, to support the Young Men Empowered leadership development program for at-risk adolescent males in the Summit Lake neighborhood, $3,000

Pfeiffer Elementary School PTA, for a student/teacher game night in Kenmore, $500

Project GRAD Akron, to support the 2014 Expo for Success event and “Snacks and Educational Fun with Santa,” a program for students in the Buchtel cluster designed to strengthen connections between the home and school, $6,750

South Street Ministries Inc., for an education and recreation program for Summit Lake youth that includes tutoring, gardening and bike-riding, $6,000

Tennis AllStars Inc., for the Summer Enrichment Program, which teaches youth living in North Hill the importance of exercise, academics and positive decision-making, $5,000

University Park YMCA, for “Make a Splash,” a water safety program for minority youth, $6,500

Woodland United Methodist Church, for the iStrive Outreach Project, which provides after-school tutoring and enrichment activities for underserved youth in the Zahn Drive neighborhood, $7,500

About Akron Community Foundation

Celebrating 59 years of building community philanthropy, Akron Community Foundation embraces and enhances the work of charitable people who make a permanent commitment to the good of the community. In 1955, a $1 million bequest from the estate of Edwin Shaw established the community foundation. Today, it is a philanthropic endowment of $181 million with a growing family of more than 450 funds established by charitable people and organizations from all walks of life. The community foundation welcomes gifts of all kinds, including cash, bequests, stock, real estate, life insurance and retirement assets, just to name a few. To date, the community foundation’s funds have awarded more than $114 million in grants to qualified nonprofit organizations. For more information about Akron Community Foundation or to learn more about creating your own charitable fund, call 330-376-8522 or visit www.akroncf.org.