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BCCP
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THE BRUSH CREEK BULLETIN Volume
12, Issue 4
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BCCP
4743 Troost
Suite 200
Kansas City, MO
64110-1727
Ph: 816-523-2991
Fax: 816-523-2281
THE BRUSH CREEK BULLETIN
Volume 12, Issue 4
October / November / December 2010
ROCKHURST RESPONDS TO YOUNG NEIGHBOR'S MURDER
Rockhurst University Campus Security officers were first on the scene after Nelson Hopkins, Jr. was shot and killed by a still unknown assailant just outside the campus boundaries on December 1, 2009.
In the year that has followed, the university's ties to the Hopkins family and its cause - ending senseless violence and murders - have become intertwined. The tragedy and growing relationship with the victim's father, Nelson Hopkins, Sr., have given Rockhurst's administration, faculty and students enhanced purpose in advancing that part of its mission to be involved in the life and growth of the city, as well as its commitment to service.
A Start To Community Initiatives
On a very cold evening the month following the murder, Rockhurst President The Rev. Thomas Curran, O.S.F.S., participated in a Jericho March, walking with Hopkins, Sr. seven times around the block where his son died. Fr. Curran introduced himself and offered the resources of the university. "Rockhurst has reached out from Day One, Fr. Curran especially," said Hopkins. "He offered the school's 'human capital' of students and departments to help get some things done."Since then, Hopkins has founded Operation Promise Land, a non-profit organized to provide "Responsible Citizenship" education to
students, offenders and residents of the 49/63 neighborhood located within the 15 square block area surrounding Rockhurst and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Its mission is to increase public safety by educating individuals about the benefits, privileges and advantages of pro-active citizenship resulting in higher "community esteem" and a greater community accountability (www.operationpromiselandkc.org).Calling Rockhurst "a God send," Hopkins lauds the school's support for his efforts. And the university's hands-on involvement is affecting the institution.
Rockhurst has launched the Hope Initiative, with efforts focused on having an immediate and lasting impact of building relationships and creating hope in the community. The Hope Initiative strives to match day-to-day resources for organizations, including providing time and manpower to solve well-documented issues.
Earlier this year, the 49/63 Neighborhood Coalition's Community Action Network center moved into a vacant house owned by the
university, increasing police presence in the immediate neighborhood. By the end of the year, Operation Promise Land will occupy another house, to be called Hope House, renting it for one dollar a year.
April Roy (left), youth services librarian with the Kansas City Public Library,
distributes books to children attending Rockhurst's first
Community Back to School Celebration in August.
More than 15 organizations with services or programs for children
and their families participated in the event.Impact On Campus/Community
As Rockhurst has renewed its focus of existing university programs to positively impact the surrounding community, its Neighborhood Committee established events for the neighborhood. Last August, many families participated in a Community Back to School Celebration where they could get school supplies and bike helmets and be connected with resources and wholesome activities. To better unite the university with its neighbors, a Block Party for students and the surrounding residents was held early this semester.Ultimately, Father Curran wants to make symbols of hope visible throughout the community. He would like to show youth and adults possibilities that help them feel a sense of pride and safety in the neighborhood.
Fr. Curran says he believes the university has responded in a way that is thoughtful and reflective. "One of Rockhurst's core values is to find God in all things, even in the darkest things," said Curran. "Nelson's murder challenged us to embrace our core values, causing us to bring the community together to say 'this is not the way to live,' and to ask 'how do we better engage, respect and live with each other?'"
Fulfilling another core value of the university to create and form active citizens, Rockhurt's faculty and students are very involved in
supporting Hopkins' work.
Faculty And Students Involved
Grant-writing to raise funds for Operation Promise Land's Citizenship Re-entry program is being done by a class in the Non-Profit Leadership curriculum. The Community Engagement class is mapping the assets of the neighborhood as a first step to unify the neighborhood east and west of Troost Avenue as part of the Citizen Development program.
Nelson Hopkins, Sr. and Rockhurst's Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority prepare
for the start of the Hopkins Skip and Run 5K to benefit the Nelson Hopkins, Jr.
Scholarship Fund at Alta Vista Charter High School.
The sorority and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity raised $5,000 in the inaugural event.A Criminal Justice instructor is working with Hopkins on a book about the re-entry of offenders into citizenship while students are researching Nelson's Law, a proposal that recognizes the demonstrated commitment of prisoners and parolees to being responsible citizens by allowing for early release and the restoration of their rights. "People who acknowledge they have been convicted of a crime just can't get jobs," said Hopkins. "Nelson's Law is a reflection of Nelson's character of grace, mercy and forgiveness."
On their own, a Rockhurst fraternity and sorority organized the 5 K Hopkins Skip and Run, raising $5,000 for the Nelson Hopkins, Junior Scholarship Fund at Alta Vista Charter High School, where the 17 year-old attended school. Student groups continue to find ways to raise scholarship funds for graduating seniors at the high school.A book of young Hopkin's poems, Still Invincible: The Life, Times and Works of Nelson E. Hopkins, Jr., was designed and printed by Rockhurst. It was released the evening of the Celebration of Life and Prayer Vigil held in his honor on the Rockhurst campus on the anniversary of his death.
"My desire was to see what we can do that is modest, achievable and sustainable," said Curran, "and that our efforts will be driven in hope, not revenge and anger. When students come here four or more years from now, they will learn about this, and it will make a difference to them, which makes it sustainable."
"I look forward to us having a long-term relationship with Rockhurst, regardless of who comes and who goes," said Hopkins. "This is a partnership that will transcend the ages. For them to show that much love and concern has touched me unlike anything else."
BCCP BOARD ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT
Kevin Bryant, vice president, Energy Solutions, Kansas City Power & Light, was elected the fifth president of Brush Creek Community Partners in November.
Bryant succeeds Rob Givens, president and chief executive officer of Mazuma Credit Union, who served three years as BCCP president.
Kevin BryantBryant joined the utility's parent company, Great Plains Energy, as senior financial analyst and was promoted to manager, Corporate Finance in 2007. In his current role, he oversees KCP&L's efforts to advance the Green Impact Zone in the Brush Creek Corridor, leading work on the SmartGrid, a national model for electrical delivery and efficiency. He was elected to the BCCP Board of Directors in November 2008, elected BCCP Vice President in 2009.
Givens joined the BCCP Board of Directors in November 2002 and has also served as treasurer and vice president. He remains on the board as Past President.
Also elected as officers for 2011 are:
Newly elected to the BCCP Board of Directors are:
The officers and new board members join continuing members of the Board of Directors:
It is the mission of Brush Creek Community Partners "to provide leadership that unites institutions, businesses and citizens of all races and ethnicities in a belief that the Brush Creek Corridor is a community with opportunity and a sense of well-being."
2010 BROUGHT OPPORTUNITIES
- AND CHALLENGES -
TO THE IVANHOE NEIGHBORHOODThe Ivanhoe Neighborhood, stretching from 31st Street to Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, from Prospect to The Paseo, had a lot to
celebrate in 2010. It is part of the Green Impact Zone, has received funding from the city for home revitalization, and recently received dozens of vacant properties for rehabilitation.Yet while the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council (INC) has been able to take advantage of economic recovery programs, the organization itself has struggled with the toughest financial climate in its history. According to INC Executive Director Margaret May, "We are blessed with so many opportunities this year, and at the same time we are challenged by our toughest cash flow situation ever."
Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council Executive Director Margaret May accepts
the donation of 23 foreclosed properties from Wells Fargo Bank in October
at an October news conference at which Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (right)
also announced a low income weatherization assistance program for
residents in the Green Impact Zone.The Nutter Ivanhoe Neighborhood Center at 3700 Woodland buzzes with activity these days. Volunteers, staff and community members work on projects, gather for meetings and carry out initiatives in the neighborhood. Ivanhoe has come together to clean up blocks, dramatically reduce crime and increase the number of owner-occupied properties. May watches the progress with pride and satisfaction, and hopes the neighborhood will continue finding the resources it needs to keep the momentum going.
Green Impact Zone
There's no doubt that being part of the 150-square-block Green Impact Zone offers Ivanhoe many opportunities. The zone, proposed by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, provides a national model for concentrating resources to create jobs and improve energy efficiency in an area threatened by decline. However, Green Impact Zone Director Anita Maltbia says the ultimate goal is "to build capacity in the neighborhoods that leads to sustainability. When the Green Impact Zone is no longer here, communities will have been strengthened."News reports about the Green Impact Zone celebrate huge dollar figures: a $20 million grant for energy retrofits; a $50 million
transportation stimulus grant for sidewalk, street and transit improvements; $48 million for the SmartGrid; and, $1.5 million from the city to hire staff and kick off programs. Maltbia says people sometimes get the mistaken impression the government is just pouring stimulus money into the zone, and that the influx of cash will solve long-term problems.But Maltbia points out that all five neighborhoods within the zone have to marshal the resources of their residents, devote many volunteer hours and do the hard work of building up their expertise and capacity. And, she adds, the neighborhoods need more than government assistance. They will also require ongoing partnerships with local businesses and organizations.
May says being a part of the zone has allowed Ivanhoe take advantage of capacity building programs, further develop its block
contact program, and improve communication with neighborhood residents. It has also allowed for expansion of a concrete repair
program providing unemployed residents with training and opportunities to apply their skills to home repairs in throughout the Green Impact Zone.Neighborhood Stabilization Program
Ivanhoe and three other neighborhoods, Oak Park, Palestine and Vineyard, are working together to rehab foreclosed properties. The City of Kansas City allocated $500,000 of its $1.8 million in federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to the Green Impact Zone. That program allows communities that have suffered from foreclosure and abandonment to purchase and redevelop neglected properties. Margaret May says the four-year project will allow Ivanhoe to acquire and repair vacant foreclosed homes and demolish blighted structures in order to sell those rehabbed properties to new owner-occupants. Because Ivanhoe has staffing and home repair capacities, it is taking the lead in bidding, project management and day-to-day work on the project.
Rather than let foreclosed houses like this one at 3943 Flora sit vacant
or sell them to out-of-area investors, Wells Fargo bank transferred
ownership of 23 foreclosed properties to the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council.Wells Fargo Homes
Another 2010 opportunity through the Green Impact Zone came when Wells Fargo Bank agreed to transfer ownership of 23 foreclosed homes to the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council Foundation. "The plan is to rehab them as quickly as possible and sell them or offer them as a lease-purchase," May says. Wells Fargo also gave the neighborhood a cash donation of $7,500 per property to help with their rehab. Ivanhoe hopes to combine that opportunity with another federal program that encourages home ownership, to fill the once-abandoned homes with local owners who will contribute to the renewed strength of the neighborhood. May says several of the foreclosed properties are vacant land, and Ivanhoe hopes to both do infill housing and create places for play, exercise and community events. With most urban communities facing a continued foreclosure problem, May says "there will be a lot of people
watching us to see what we do with these properties."A Renaissance Has Begun
Ivanhoe looks forward to continuing these and other programs and projects in 2011, knowing that with opportunities comes the need to keep neighbors involved and engaged. The neighborhood also continues to work hard to increase its partnerships with businesses, nonprofits and government entities.May sees the basic challenge ahead as cash flow. "We'll have to beg and borrow" to continue to take advantage of the opportunities, she says. But Ivanhoe hopes to build upon its successes. A recent communication to residents declares "a renaissance is underway in Ivanhoe, and with your continuing help, we will be able to do much, much more."
A PRESENCE ALONG THE CORRIDOR:
KC EQUITY FUND
A RESOURCE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSINGThe Kansas City Equity Fund (KCEF) was formed in 2006 by the St. Louis Equity Fund to fill a growing need for such a resource to invest in affordable rental housing in the bi-state metropolitan area.
Located at 2 Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard, KCEF raises capital from financial institutions and corporations interested in investing in
affordable and historic housing in and around Kansas City. The fund then invests these resources by purchasing federal and state low income housing tax credits as well as federal historic tax credits from developers. While the benefits of these credits are allocated to KCEF's investors, the developer receives funding as equity for construction of the housing.KCEF also provides technical assistance in structuring and financing to developers that have sold their tax credits, to ensure the
feasibility of their projects. The fund also manages the investments for the 15 year investment/compliance period of each property. Over the past four years, Kansas City Equity Fund has raised equity totaling approximately $11 million, supporting projects through the community's urban core.For more information, visit www.kcequityfund.com.
BCCP RECEIVES ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARD
Bridging the Gap and the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) have presented Brush Creek Community Partners with the 2010 David Garcia Award for Environmental Excellence. The award recognizes BCCP for consistently providing "clear, thoughtful leadership on tough issues in ways that bring people together, improve the environment and strengthen the community."
Lisa Danbury, MARC's manager for Solid Waste Management Programs (left)
presents the David Garcia award to BCCP Executive Director Carol Grimaldi.
The award is named for a MARC Environmental and Emergency Services Director who died in 1995.BCCP was specifically cited for its leadership on Kansas City's Wet Weather Community Panel-the citizen's group that worked with the city on its sewer and stormwater plan's development for over five years - and its facilitation of community engagement in the
Bi-State Brush Creek Watershed Plan sponsored by the city, Johnson County, Kansas and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers