FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ‘People Are Making a Difference’ Residents, DC staff & supporters are moving Amani in a positive direction
Greetings,
“Every single person is unique & brings threads of diversity to the fabric of our community.” – Maricha Harris
I hope you and your families are safe, healthy and well. September 15th marked two years in my role as the Executive Director of Dominican Center. I’m often asked, “what do you love most about your job?” My consistent response is – the people! It’s an incredible joy and privilege to work with so many amazing people who are passionate about making positive changes in our community. Each day, people are raising their hands to make a difference including: the dedicated team of Dominican Center staff; the committed resident leaders who regularly volunteer, our dedicated board of directors and a host of partners, donors and supporters. What’s even more beautiful is that every single person is unique and brings threads of diversity to the fabric of our community. There are people of all ages, races, genders, social economic statuses, etc. working together to make positive strides in the Amani neighborhood. The pages in our newsletter showcase the amaz- ing work that’s happening and the positive mo- mentum that is moving us in the right direction. There’s so much that I’m excited about, but here a few highlights from this year: • We were awarded an Active Street grant from the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works to implement traffic calming strategies on North 26th Street between Locust and Chambers Streets. • We hosted the inaugural Summer Hydroponics STEM Program, which was created by a long-time Amani resident. For this program we recruited 17 middle school students, 12 of which completed the program, which was held every Saturday in June. • We received a grant from the City of Milwaukee to expand our hydroponics lab and increase our capacity to be a high producing urban farm. • Residents led efforts to rename Cawker Park to
Al Jarreau Park, and residents worked with a local artist to install a beautiful mural at the park and redesign the basketball courts. • We’ve helped 8 residents with critical home repairs this year, including Ms. Della Veasy, a long- time resident. As we approach the final quarter of 2023, the needs of our community continue to be great. Over the next couple of months, we will be working with our corporate partners to host holiday food distributions – providing meals for approximately 200 families in November and December. The holidays can be burdensome, so we are working to provide as many supports and resources as we can to our families during this year’s holiday season! Our work continues to be possible because of supporters like you! Thank you to everyone who is helping us in this work – whether you’re a partner organization or a donor who gives your time, tal- ent or treasure – you are greatly appreciated! We look forward to continuing to serve alongside you as we work in tandem with residents to revitalize the neighborhood.
Yours in service,
Maricha Harris, DC Executive Director
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