Four to Help Revitalize Georgetown South Neighborhood

Editor's Note: The below information is from the City's October 2011 Town Hall Newsletter.

The City has been awarded a federal grant, totalling $70,000, to employ four AmeriCorps VISTA members to lead the revitalization of the Georgetown South Community.

The City has provided the four VISTAs will be working out of the Manassas Boys and Girls Club and three of the four will be living in the very community they are working to improve.

The four VISTAs introduced themselves to City officials at the Sept. 12 Council meeting:

Kenisha Salvary is a native of Arlington. She attended Stonewall and Osbourn High Schools and Northern Virginia Community College, where she was an accomplished writer, a member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society and garnered two awards for transforming the Society for Diverse Student Concerns, a community outreach group.    Her VISTA work is to recruit neighborhood leaders to identify specific issues, make their voices known, and eradicate the obstacles that prevent the community from being a positive environment. She will also connect the community with resources such as Habitat for Humanity, Project Mend-A-House and more.

Mignon Broughton studied Sociology at Howard University and Human Services Management at the University of Phoenix. Her VISTA work is to collaborate with school leaders to develop tutoring and mentoring programs that will improve the academic achievement of youth in the community and engage residents in adult literacy programs and English as a Second Language.

Jesus Tlatelpa is a native of Los Angeles who has worked with Father Ramon Dominguez at the Don Bosco Center, and participated in the City’s January 2011 Gang Prevention Summit. His job as a VISTA is to reactivate the Neighborhood Watch and start a Community Safety program for youth. Jesus will identify neighborhood leaders who can provide resources for youth. He will also build relationships with schools, community programs and the Prince William Chamber of Commerce, especially the Hispanic Business Council.

Kimberley Jenkins-Bailey is a native of Brooklyn, New York, where she earned a Masters degree in Political Science with a concentration in Sociology. Her task as a VISTA is to connect parents and guardians in the community with their youth, and to develop and establish consistent, reliable, and safe transportation to and from the Boys & Girls Club of Manassas.

Neighborhood Services Manager Kisha Wilson- Sogunro, an AmeriCorps alumna, is overseeing the work of the VISTAs, who are headquartered at the Boys & Girls Club of Manassas and reside in Georgetown South.   Their goal is to develop a model of revitalization that will be a model for all City neighborhoods. She also applied for the grant.