By JENNIFER RADCLIFFE
First: schools. Next: a community.
The KIPP charter school chain has stepped up its game at its newest campus in the Sharpstown neighborhood in southwest Houston. It’s launching a new community-building model designed to break the cycle of poverty by working with other nonprofits to provide everything from good schools to health care and, ultimately, mixed-income housing.
We’re excited to announce the addition of two outstanding individuals to our Purpose Built Communities team. Please join us in welcoming Jessica Wright and Reagan Perkins!
New York Network Member Blueprint 15 partnered with the City of Syracuse and Syracuse Housing Authority in receiving a landmark award of a $50 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiatives (CNI) Implementation Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
We envision an America where every neighborhood offers pathways to opportunity and prosperity for the people who call it home. This vision doesn’t happen overnight or by accident. It is crucial to us as leaders at Purpose Built Communities to be intentional and collaborative as we plan for the future, and one way we do that is through our Strategic Plan.
It’s summer! This was one of my favorite seasons growing up. I spent it outside – running around my neighborhood, swimming at the local pool with friends, grabbing a snack at the ice cream shop, and enjoying a town-run summer camp.
Meet our new team members: Drew Smith, Vice President of Education Initiatives, and Vicki O’Brien, Prospect and Database Manager.
This week marks three years since President Biden signed into proclamation Juneteenth Day of Observance and 159 years since Union troops, under the leadership of U.S. Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas, to ensure all enslaved people were free.
In the annals of early learning history, there exists a cohort of remarkable Black women who, against the backdrop of segregation, Jim Crow, and a fragile social safety net, developed centers of care for poor Black children that would serve as beacons of hope and possibility.
What a joy it was to gather in Birmingham for the 2024 Purpose Built Communities Conference! Network Members, supporters, and partners came together to network, share best practices, and learn together about innovative approaches to holistic, equitable community revitalization. This year’s conference theme was “Prosperity Starts with Place,” and the program content advanced the belief that every neighborhood should have the resources and amenities it needs to be worthy of the people who live there.
Purpose Built Network Member Lift Orlando is building a network of early learning providers in the 32805 zip code where Lift Orlando is located. Early Childhood Education Specialist Anna Kinchens and Education Director Lynn Thompson of Lift Orlando share more below about why this network is critical to supporting a pipeline of high-quality, community-serving schools for the families of the Communities of West Lakes.
