Featured Project Sporting T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Cleaner, Safer, Stronger,” several Greater Kansas City LISC Local Advisory Board (LAB) members recently learned the value of being LISC ambassadors. They were among 35 Northeast KC residents, kids and volunteers at a Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood cleanup that collected three tons of trash in two industrial-size dumpsters on a sunny, humid Saturday morning.
“The Scarritt neighborhood cleanup was a great opportunity to spend some time in one of our NeighborhoodsNOW communities and work side by side with residents on an important neighborhood project. It was a morning of hard and dirty work, but very rewarding and residents seemed truly appreciative that LISC was there to help,” said Alex Wendel, LAB member and Global Prairie Account Marketing consultant.
Wendel’s efforts were part of a special project envisioned by Board Chair Lynn Craghead for LAB members to learn firsthand about NeighborhoodsNOW and LISC’s mission.
“Our goal is to get every board member personally involved in a NeighborhoodsNOW project - not just seeing things on paper or hearing an update at a meeting,” said Craghead, a senior vice president with US Bancorp.
To accomplish this goal, the LAB was divided into four teams and assigned to a project in a NeighborhoodsNOW target area based upon its Quality of Life Plan: a neighborhood cleanup, a youth garden, an art event, and park usage and programming.
The result: A personal experience that translated into inspired commitment.
While all the teams have achieved a new level of involvement, the Scarritt Renaissance team rolled up its sleeves and got dirty. “Working the cleanup gave me a better appreciation of the challenges the Scarritt neighborhood is facing and how long it takes to turn a neighborhood around,” Craghead said.
collect trash at the September 20 cleanup event.
*A grant from the Citi Foundation helps support the Scarritt Renaissance Community Organizer position.
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