JS Online: Harambee gets an infusion of money
Thank you to everyone who made yesterday's announcement of Thrivent's $1MM investment in our plan possible. It was a great day. A blessed Christmas to everyone, and a happy new year. We have a lot of really great things to work on together in 2008.
Over the past week, the Harambee Great Neighborhood Initiative staff mailed out over 225 letters directly to residents, organizations, and businesses encouraging people to apply for open seats on the Harambee Great Neighborhood Steering Committee. There are 15 seats open for residents and business owners, meaning in order to be eligible, an individual must either live in the Harambee Great Neighborhood target area or own and operate a business in the the target area. The target area is Holton to I-43 east to west and Capitol Drive to Center Street North to South. For more information about the Steering Committee, please see the notes below:
Purpose of the Harambee Great Neighborhoods Steering Committee ( HGNSC )
The HGNSC will include Residents, Business Owners and Community Based Organizations serving the Harambee Great Neighborhoods in a voluntary governing body that will implement the Neighborhood Action Plan ( NAP ). The Steering Committee will make decisions regarding its implementation and takes joint responsibility for carrying it out. The NAP moves the Harambee Great Neighborhoods towards the Neighborhood Vision by working through a structure of Nine Priorities:
(1) Neighborhood Image
(2) Housing Market
(3) Physical Conditions
(4) Health and Environment
(5) Neighborhood Leadership
(6) Community Connections
(7) Employment and Workforce
(8) Public Safety
(9) Arts and Culture
Neighborhood Vision
The Harambee Great Neighborhoods is a community of neighborhoods of choice for a range of stakeholders – residents, potential homebuyers, businesses, institutions, and government. The residential neighborhood clusters of Harambee Great Neighborhoods are places people know of and want to move and remain, where businesses find an attractive market for their goods and services, and where government makes investments similar in size and impact to those in other Milwaukee neighborhoods. Harambee Great Neighborhoods is also a place with a high degree of social connectivity – where neighbors are engaged with each other and with neighborhood development and where institutions are connected to each other and residents.
Who Composes the HGN Steering Committee ( HGNSC )
The HGNSC will consist of a minimum of twenty-five and up to twenty-nine (29) members , which will consist of up to fourteen (14) members representing Organization Partners and up to fifteen (15) residents and business owners ( so long as the majority of members are residents and business owners ) .
The HGNSC will operate under bylaws it will establish for itself. It is expected that the HGNSC will have an Executive Committee and a Nominating Committee and may establish Ad Hoc Committees as it sees fit in order to carry out the work required to focus on the Nine Priorities to move the Harambee Great Neighborhoods towards the Neighborhood Vision.
If you are interested:
If you are interested in applying yourself or know somebody who might have interest and need an application, please contact Steve Adams or Chris Grandt ASAP. They can be reached at Riverworks Development Corporation at 414.906.9650. It is strongly encouraged to complete your application by Friday December 21 or early the following week.
