Wean Foundation Awards Neighborhood Success Grants

WARREN, Ohio – Neighborhood Success Grants, a program of The Raymond John Wean Foundation, awarded over $30,000 to eight resident-led organizations. Several of the groups are previous grant recipients, while three are first time grantees.

“The foundation has supported our efforts to improve property standards and promote the interests of the residents in our service area for over three years,” says Danielle Anderson, communications & programs director, Northeast Homeowners and Concerned Citizens Association.“ With the $5,000 award, a portion of the funding will be utilized to implement two new gardens. The remaining portion will be used to purchase equipment and supplies to offer snow and ice removal services – an effort to extend youth employment program into the winter months, foster collaboration with local organizations, businesses and residents.”

“Know Your Neighbor knows the value of collaboration that the Wean Foundation encourages. Youth, residents, supervisors, KYN members, city groups and various agencies are all important to the success of this project,” says Joyce Davidson, a member of the organization.

A variety of projects, all centering on race equity and inclusion, received grants. Funded projects ranged from poetry workshops to community building programs.

Grantees participated in the grantee orientation on April 28. During the first in-person event for the program since the start of the pandemic, connections were made among people and organizations setting the stage for future events.

2022 Neighborhood SUCCESS Grants Program Grantees and Projects

• Boulevard Park Block Watch – Boulevard Park Phase IV, to bring neighbors with diverse backgrounds together through community building activities which includes maintenance of the blueberry patch, landscaping and neighborhood gatherings.
• Chess is Life – Zulu Boxing, mentoring, physical fitness and boxing as a strategy to support student success inside and outside of the classroom.
• Dare to Dream Children’s Foundation – CultureConnect, assisting qualified households with obtaining electronic devices and gaining internet access.
• Detroit Pemberton Neighborhood Association – Pemberton Park Vacant Lot Beautification, a beautification project to build on improvements of a vacant lot adjacent to the park.
• Know Your Neighbor Block Watch – KYN: Expanding the Potential of our Youth – Benita Avenue Project, to expand the potential of local youth by providing quality hands-on training through helping senior citizens and disabled individuals with yard work and general exterior home maintenance.
• Lit Youngstown – Writers-in-Residence Poetry and Black History Tour, to host three weekend events featuring prominent regional writers and a local historian.
• Northeast Homeowners and Concerned Citizens Association – NHCCA Year-Around Neighborhood Beautification, a project designed to control litter, provide safety services and beautify green spaces in their area.
• Will RESPECT Inc. – From Beefin to Brotherhood Mentoring Project, to host a series of community forums to explore, discuss and seek to resolve long standing conflicts among youth and young adults to reduce and eliminate the potential for violence within the community.

Neighborhood SUCCESS Grants are but one opportunity to engage the Wean Foundation. Organizations are encouraged to complete a WeanFolio. The WeanFolio serves as the entry point for grant making, capacity building and community building engagement.

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