A list of upcoming QOL meetings. Meetings are open to the public. All are welcome!
QOL Steering Committee Meeting
Wednesday August 6, 2008; 6:30pm
Duke University Office of Community Affairs
110 Swift Ave. First Floor, Durham; Conference Room
QOL Economic Development Committee Meeting
Tuesday August 12, 2008; 12pm
Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center
1009 W. Chapel Hill St Durham
QOL Housing Committee Meeting
Monday July 21, 2008; 6:00pm
Community Family Life and Recreation Center at Lyon Park
1313 Halley St. Durham; Health and Wellness Room
By Carrem Gay As part of a university experience students are encouraged to give back to the communities in which they are studying. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a Community Organizing class at the School of Social Work, students are asked to provide services to Southwest Central Durham Quality of Life Project (QOL), which is a community that is unfamiliar to most of them.
Two courses that have been offered for 3 years in the fall and spring titled Public Service and Social Change and Community Organizing for Social Change, respectfully, are devoted to teaching students how to get involved with community work and allow students to work with QOL. Instructed by adjunct faculty Marcie Fisher-Borne, MSW, MPH; each year’s class builds on the work of past students, as well as learns the ins and outs of community and grassroots organizing. Over the course of the semester, students work closely with the QOL Steering Committee and other community leaders; and classes have assisted with several projects over the 3 years. In 2008, students developed a fundraising plan for the Quality of Life Emergency Relief Fund and a guide for organizing the annual CommUNITY Festival.
The Quality of Life Steering Committee asked the class to undertake a fundraising project for the Emergency Fund. The group of UNC students proposed ideas for fundraisers and set a goal to raise $5,000 over the course of the semester. To achieve the goal they set, the students began by sending letters to friends and families, as well as to local businesses to gain support and places to host events. Also, several charity events were held to raise money for the Emergency Fund in addition to hosting events that were directed toward getting the student population involved in the cause. One student denied presents at her birthday celebration, instead she asked for donations at the door. Not all the fundraising efforts were successful; however, at the end of the semester the student reached the goals they set. Over the course of just 2 years, students in Marcie’s spring Community Organizing course have raised a sum of almost $10,000 for QOL! When the proper structures are put in place, the Emergency Fund will be made available to residents of the six neighborhoods within Southwest Central Durham for small-scale financial emergency relief.
On top of fundraising, students did research and consulted QOL on what application process would be most conducive to QOL’s intentions for the Emergency Relief Fund. After they researched different formats and effective application processes, the students presented their findings and recommendations in a report to the Steering Committee.
Another group within the class worked closely with community leaders to help prepare for and organize another successful CommUNITY Festival. CommUNITY Festival is an annual event featuring live music and dance, as well as local food, crafts, nonprofit booths, neighborhood history displays, and family fun activities. The goal of CommUNITY fest is to celebrate the gifts, talents, and history of the SWCD community by bringing people with diverse backgrounds from all six SWCD neighborhoods (Burch Avenue, Lakewood Park, Lyon Park, Morehead Hill, Tuscaloosa-Lakewood, West End) together in a fun, festive atmosphere, in turn building an even stronger community.
As part of their community service project, UNC students listened to the ideas and concerns of community members to work on a plan of action that will help QOL organize the event. They created timelines and possible leadership roles. Each CommUNITY Fest planning committee member would be responsible for different aspects of event organizing, from entertainment to publicity.
The overall goal of the semester and the project was to transform ideas of the community into action. The students will be able to see the fruits of their labor this fall and for years to come.
By Carrem Gay West Chapel Hill Street is considered a gateway between Downtown Durham and Duke University. Recently community members, with the help of nonprofit and City partners, have organized to change the face of WCHS to make it a more inviting place for visitors and community members to stop and shop.
In 2007 a charrette was organized in conjunction with Duke University, Quality of Life Project, Durham City, and the Durham Urban Design Assistance Team in an effort to get opinions from community members about the future of WCHS, and how it could be more useful for people in West End and Burch Avenue and visitors on their way to Downtown or Duke University. More specifically, the area under consideration for redevelopment is between Kent St. and S. Buchanan St.
As a result of the charrette, community members suggested that the streets needed to be more pedestrian safe, new businesses should be recruited that can provide services and food, and a redesign of the street should incorporate public art and improved landscaping. As part of the process for getting adequate funding for the proposed project, a team of members from the Quality of Life Project (QOL) Economic Development Committee partnered with Self-Help staff at the beginning of 2008 to develop a grant proposal in response to an RFP (Request for Proposals) put out by the Durham Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD).
On Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 Aisha Abdul-Ali, QOL Economic Development Committee chair, and Ron Bodkin, the project developer from Self-Help, had an interview with the OEWD Revitalization Review Committee regarding the commercial revitalization of West Chapel Hill Street and the specific project for which they have requested funding. Aisha and Ron were allotted 10 minutes to present their project proposal and its place in the larger vision of the future of West Chapel Hill Street, followed by a 15-minute question and answer period with the review committee. The review committee consists of different city officials that will form recommendations to give to the City Council, which will go on to deliberate on whether or not the West Chapel Hill Street revitalization project should receive a grant from the city. The WCHS project is not the only project seeking a grant. City council will weigh out their options based on the other RFP presentations that were given.
The RFP proposal presented Wednesday, if funded, will make more visible strides to jump-start commercial development on WCHS. The Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, located on W. Chapel Hill Street near Buchanan, has decided to move and offer up its property for commercial ventures that would be conducive to the WCHS redevelopment. Their funding request to the City is for renovation of the mosque’s properties into commercial space. Having been an active resident on WCHS for the last 50 years, the mosque will seek to relocate to another location in West End.
With the support of friends and community partners, Aisha and Ron addressed the committee with the results of the charrette along with their future projections regarding WCHS. They also talked about the ways in which their team is already moving to address the main concerns that emerged from the charrette and other community outreach work along WCHS. The biggest concerns lie with youth unemployment and crime. Believing that the two are directly connected the revitalization plan will call on the youth to become integral parts in the development of the street. With the help Duke-United Way funding, the QOL Economic Development Committee plans to hire youth to get them off the street doing something constructive to decrease number of illegal activities in the community. Along with giving them jobs, classes and workshops will be offered for the youth to help guide them and help them with their future plans. Students from NCCU will teach the classes.
Self-Help has been influential in revitalizing many properties in Durham and as project developer for WCHS, Self-Help offers plenty of resources and knowledge to get the project underway. On behalf of Self-Help, Ron Bodkin spoke to further explain its role in helping the vision of the community come to life. Self-Help is willing to act as a developer for the Mosque as it undergoes renovations for the street-scape. He also explained how the WCHS project could be an investment for Durham. In a 2005 research project, Fuqua Business School students assessed the economic needs of WCHS and saw its potential as an area that can provide services to a large number of commuters on a daily basis; 11,000 cars travel to or from downtown, Duke University or the Durham Freeway, a number projected to reach 20,000 in coming years. Ron stated that active businesses on the street would be a catalyst for development.
Once Aisha and Ron presented, the committee asked them questions based on information the city council will need to grant funding to the project in regards to feasibility, budgeting, and the project’s relevant importance to Durham as a whole. To make funding more feasible, if necessary, the project can be completed in smaller increments until adequate funding is available to complete it.
On June 30, 2008 the city council announced that they are willing to award the Islamic Center $100,000 to proceed with renovations to turn the property into multi-use commercial development. The grant will be issued at the completion of the project under the conditions that the center receives a loan from a bank or lending institution for the purposes of renovation; Workforce Development and SDBE plans are approved by the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and The Department of Equal Opportunity/Equity Assurance; lastly, the Conditional Commitment letter expires on December 31, 2008. The next step is to work with City staff and present a contract to City Council for their final approval in September 2008.