Rose Senior Center celebrates 25 years

25th Anniversary Celebration at Clinton and Bernice Rose Senior Center

Members of the community are invited to the 25th Anniversary Celebration at Clinton and Bernice Rose Senior Center on Thursday, September 13th from 10:30 – 2:30.

• 10:30 am Opening Ceremonies - featuring elected officials, staff and participant leaders
• 11:00 am Talent Showcase – highlighting Rose Center performing groups
• 12:00 pm Open House and Refreshments

Please RSVP by calling the center at (414) 263-2255.

For 25 years, Clinton and Bernice Rose Senior Center, located in the heart of the Harambee neighborhood at 3045 N. Martin Luther King Dr., has been a key part of many people’s lives in Milwaukee by providing recreational and social opportunities. The center welcomes adults age 50 or better. There is no membership fee to participate at the center.

Clinton and Bernice Rose Senior Center is managed by Interfaith Older Adult Programs, Inc. and funded by Milwaukee County Department on Aging. For more information, please contact the center at (414) 263-2255 or online at www.interfaithmilw.org.

Learn to Build a Great Playground

The McBeath Foundation and Safe & Sound are sponsoring a Kaboom! Workshop Entirely on Play (WE Play!) in Milwaukee that teaches people how to leverage volunteers to build playgrounds on September 19-20.

Members of the Youth and Recreation Working Group are particularly encouraged to attend and bring their newfound knowledge back to the committee to plan and build a playground in Harambee using volunteers and funds raised during the next few years. Every child needs a great playground in walking distance of home! The youth and recreation work group noted Harambee's shortage of public recreational spaces in their discussions. Please let Chris Grandt know by email if you plan to attend and let him know afterward if you want to get the Youth and Recreation group together to begin planning.

The agenda is posted here. Click on Kaboom's website here for more information and to learn more and/or register. The workshop is free.

Neighbors Gather in Park Hill

On Tuesday, August 21, neighbors gathered for a neighborhood meeting in the newly-remodeled community room of Park Hill Senior Apartments at 535 W. Concordia. Outside, elder residents looked on as children enjoyed games and a martial arts demonstration led by volunteers from the Harambee neighborhood. Members of Solomon Temple United Methodist Church adjourned Bible class early to come over and participate in the meeting.

Residents and church members committed to working together in Park Hill to implement the main strategies laid out in the Neighborhood Action Plan:

1. Work with neighbors to do small projects that build community pride and improve the appearance and environment in their immediate area.



2. Help match homes for sale with homebuyers they know to increase owner-occupancy within their area.



3. Make efforts to reach out to neighbors, connect them with the organizations that are working together under the plan, and become ambassadors and leaders in making the neighborhood a great place to live.

In addition, residents heard about the new and increased resources the plan calls for:

1. Loans and grants for home improvements that fit with current residents' financial situation;


2. Incentives to attract new homebuyers who will live in the neighborhood;


3. Funds for community pride projects such as landscaping projects, vacant lot clean-ups, house lighting projects, neighborhood identity projects and other activities to connect neighbors and create positive neighborhood image;


4. More sources of support and information from neighborhood organizations for their positive efforts.

New leaders stepped up and agreed to meet again to plan a community pride project in two weeks. Then they enjoyed some ice cream together, complete with hot fudge, whipped cream and cherries.