One home, one Church and two gardens receive assistance from CPEX, LSU and volunteers on MLK Day
Baton Rouge (January 16, 2012) – On Monday, January 16 from 9am-3pm, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, New Ark Baptist Church and an Old South Baton Rouge (OSBR) residence received fresh coats of paint and other site improvements while the Stamp of Hope Community Garden will be cleaned and prepped for Spring planting.
Thanks to a substantial increase in grant funding from the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, a fourth round of CPEX’s Home Rehabilitation program is nearly complete in OSBR and in Scotlandville, bringing the total number of homes successfully repaired through this program to 19. This work is part of a continuing project started by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and CPEX to bring reinvestment to OSBR, the historic community between LSU and downtown.
As part of this Home Rehabilitation Grant program, Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) partnered with Louisiana State University Community University Partnership, the LSU Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Working Interfaith Network (WIN) to paint the exterior of the home located on Smith Street. Shell Chemicals of Geismar, LA donated and cooked jambalaya on site.
The Stamp of Hope garden, an outcome of CPEX’s Community Gardens Initiative, was prepped for the Spring, so that programs aimed at youth engagement and education can bring life to the soil.
“Improving homes and community hubs, along with developing programs that bring better access to healthy foods, represents a critical piece of our larger strategy to revitalize Old South Baton Rouge,” said Boo Thomas, President and CEO of CPEX. “It is an honor to work with these dedicated volunteers to fix up houses on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, nurturing the spirit of community service and recognizing the pride of this historic neighborhood.”
CPEX’s Home Rehabilitation work is funded by Louisiana Housing Finance Agency, NeighborWorks America, the East Baton Rouge Mortgage Finance Authority, Greater Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, Capital One, and Chase. The Community Gardens are funded by NeighborWorks America, the Home Depot Foundation, Chase and Capital One.
The Community Gardens Initiative has brought five gardens to OSBR. The New Ark Baptist Church garden, the Stamp of Hope Garden at South Boulevard & 12th Street, YMCA and Polk Elementary gardens, and a garden on McKinley Street are all the results of successful CPEX partnerships in the neighborhood, involving community and church members, the South Garden Project, LSU AgCenter, City Year, Baton Rouge Green, LSU Hilltop Arboretum and members of the South Baton Rouge Civic Association.
These revitalization programs were initiated in 2005, following the creation of a master plan for the neighborhood. In accordance with the OSBR Neighborhood and Economic Revitalization Strategy, CPEX, in partnership with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, focuses on revitalizing existing residences and businesses, while integrating mixed-income housing and multi-use development into the area. More information about the community gardens initiative and the Home Rehabilitation grant program are available online at www.cpex.org or by calling (225) 267-6300.
For additional coverage on this event, visit the LSU website.
