SUCCESS Grants Making an Impact in the Mahoning Valley

SUCCESS Grants Making an Impact in the Mahoning Valley

Neighborhood groups can apply for $500 to $5000 for projects

It all started with a dream.
Vacant properties, disinvestment, and blight have plagued the city of Youngstown since the beginning of the region’s economic decline. Not simply aesthetically unpleasant, these abandoned properties pose a threat to the residents of the neighborhoods in which these properties are located.

In a survey completed by the Dream Team Block Watch on Youngstown’s south side, it was noted that at least 95 percent of vacant properties within the neighborhood compromise the health and safety of its residents each year. Because of the high amount of risk these properties pose to the neighborhood, local residents decided to put their foot down and make a difference.

With the financial support of the Wean Foundation through the Neighborhood SUCCESS Grants program and MVOC’s willingness to serve as fiscal agent, the Dream Team has made a huge difference in their neighborhood by maintaining vacant properties on Youngstown’s south side. Mowing, cleaning yards, bagging leaves – you name it, they do it. And they have been able to encourage a close-knit community to remain connected with each other through service (and Ron Collier’s famous chili and cornbread!).

Henrietta Dixon-Collier, president of the Dream Team, credits the organization’s success to “being in the right place at the right time for all the right things to happen.” Dixon-Collier commented that the SUCCESS grant enabled her organization to reinstate important links within the neighborhood. She stated, “The neighbors were so excited. One came down to my house and said she hadn’t been able to see the corner for twenty years… she just kept saying thank you, thank you over and over again.”

Because of the support of the Wean Foundation and MVOC, Collier and other Dream Team Block Watch members have successfully cleaned up their neighborhood: reclaiming their community – and the dignity – of being an integral part of this community.

As a fiscal agent for neighborhood groups that desire to make a difference in their community, the MVOC believes in equipping residents with the tools to make dreams become a reality. Through working with the Raymond John Wean Foundation and its Neighborhood SUCCESS Grants program, $500 to $5,000 grants enables Mahoning Valley residents to take ownership of their community and make a positive impact on the area.

For more information regarding the SUCCESS grant program, contact Jennifer Roller at the Wean Foundation at 330-330-394-5600 or email jroller@rjweanfdn.org.

Click Here to Return to Valley Voice Fall 2009