Strengthening Communities Initiative Awards 2015 Grants

June 1, 2015 - The Strengthening Communities Initiative has awarded its 2015 Capacity Building and Small Grants to support community-based projects that address economic development, education, health, housing, transportation and safety issues.

Strengthening Communities is an initiative of the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy and the Engaged Scholarship Faculty Committee at the University of Memphis, the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, United Way of the Mid-South and the Learning by Giving Foundation.

Small Grants of $2,500 are awarded to nonprofit organizations for a one-time community development project. Recipients include Binghampton Development Corp., serving African refugee parents in the Binghampton neighborhood, for Blueprint for Success: Parenting Curriculum for Refugee Parents project; Cooperative Memphis for the development of Vance ROCK (Reorganizing Our Community and Kitchens), a community fruit and vegetable stand in South Memphis; Hope House, to create a playground and garden for the Healthy Playscape Environment project at the Hope House Childcare Center; and Shelby County Books from Birth, to establish Helping Parents Succeed – Creation of a "Raising a Reader" Parent Training in the Orange Mound neighborhood.

Capacity Building Grants of $18,500 are awarded to teams, each consisting of a nonprofit community organization and UofM faculty and students, for community-based projects. Recipients include Caritas Village for the CRuCES (Create Community Engaged Scholarship) project, with faculty partner Diana Ruggiero, assistant professor of Spanish; Friends For Life for the Women's Empowerment Group project, with faculty partner Robin Lennon-Dearing, assistant professor of social work; and Mississippi River Corridor – Tennessee for the MORE 2015-2016 Frayser ASD Program Development and Assessment, with faculty partners Leigh Harrell-Williams, assistant professor of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research; and Christian Mueller, associate professor of CEPR.

For more information, visit memphis.edu/scgrants.

Contact: Gabrielle Maxey
901.678.2843
gmaxey@memphis.edu