Recipients of Love Your Block mini grants have begun beautification and cleanup projects on Howard Avenue and in the ChurchTowne neighborhood. Projects were selected for grants between $500 and $2,000 earlier this spring. More than 80 resident volunteers will be engaged through these projects.
One project has already been completed. The Cultured Professional Network, led by resident Marquis Lupton, performed a cleanup outside and on the façade of the Crispus Attucks Community Center on May 18. This was the first step of the group's initiative to rehabilitate the space and provide programming for community education.
Upcoming projects include the following.
Neighbors on the 100 block of Howard Avenue planned to replace a blighted fence on June 8, as well as install a trash can to help reduce litter. They also plan to purchase trash carts that can easily fit through baker's alleys between houses. The carts will be given to neighbors. Trash can installation is planned for the end of June. For more information, readers may contact Cooper Linde at 717-858-2373 or cooperlinde@gmail.com.
Neighbors on the 500 block of North Street planned to scrape and repaint porches, railings, and doors on June 22. They also planned to purchase trash carts for residents on the block. The project's contact, Erin Dixon, may be reached at 717-224-5056 or eldixon@hotmail.com.
The San Juan Bautista Plaza will install a trash can, as well as lighting and planters around the fencing on Lime Street. The community center will host public engagement workshops to design public art for the plaza. The project is slated to occur at the end of June. To learn more, readers may contact Erica Asso at 717-283-0287 or ezapata@hbgdiocese.org.
Neighbors on the first block of Howard Avenue will install trash cans and partner with Church World Service to organize recurring cleanups on the block. They will also install planters to beautify the space. The project will begin at the end of June. More information is available from Valerie Bradley at 717-333-3620 or five4hym@msn.com.
Neighbors on Atlantic Avenue will scrape and repaint railings and doors and add planters to the sidewalk to prevent parking on the wrong side of the street. They will also canvass and promote the city's Lead Hazard Control Program to neighbors on Atlantic Avenue. This work will take place in late June and early July. The project's contact, Edna Ortiz, may be reached at 267-471-4006.
In mid-July, Rivers Edge Fellowship will install trash cans and a dog waste station and organize a community pickup with neighbors. They will scrape and repaint windows and doorframes on the 500 block of Locust Street. They will also host a block party at the end of their project days to bring the community together. To learn more, readers may contact Rayvon Jordan at 717-490-5992 or raychrist86@gmail.com.
The Mix at Arbor Place will work with neighbors to host art workshops to design a mural of Nelson Polite to celebrate Polite's work in Lancaster. The mural will be installed on the corner of North Street and Atlantic Avenue with LED lighting to prevent criminal activity. For more information, readers may contact Luis Torres at 717-808-0818 or ltorres@arborplace.org.
The mini grants are funded through the Love Your Block grant awarded to the City of Lancaster by Cities of Service and supplemented by funds from SACA's Elm Street Program. Love Your Block is a community engagement program that supports resident-led improvement projects and aims to make it easier for residents to connect with city leaders and resources. The program offers mini grants that are earmarked for projects that focus on reducing litter and addressing simple exterior home (façade) repairs in the focus area of Howard Avenue and the ChurchTowne neighborhood. Interested residents, neighborhood groups and community organizations in these neighborhoods may submit project proposals during funding cycles.
Leave a Review