Knight Foundation grant will advance work of Shocker Neighborhood Coalition
The grant will enable the Shocker Neighborhood Coalition to request an additional $50,000 in matching funds from the Kansas Health Foundation, which last year awarded Wichita State $250,000 as part of its Community Engagement Initiative to help improve communities throughout Kansas. The Shocker Neighborhood Coalition project supports efforts by the residents of the Fairmount Park neighborhood to improve their community.
To date, members of the coalition have created a Community Action Plan to identify and begin dismantling barriers for Fairmount to become a healthy, safe and prosperous neighborhood. Coalition activities have included a safety audit resulting in many concerns being addressed, neighborhood cleanups and beautification efforts in Fairmount Park.
"Promoting economic development is the next critical challenge facing the coalition," said Misty Bruckner, director of public policy and management for the WSU Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs. "Assisting residents who live in the neighborhoods will take time, dedicated resources and a willingness to break away from traditional methods of development that have yielded mixed results."
The coalition will identify programs and resources at Wichita State that can help residents address economic disparities, create pilot projects that will help develop long-term programming and build communication strategies targeted at adults and youths to broaden their participation in programs.
"This is about expanding economic opportunity and creating a culture of civic engagement, two goals the Knight Foundation emphasizes strongly in its community grant program," said Keith Pickus, WSU Foundation vice president for corporate and foundation relations. "It's a privilege for the Shocker Neighborhood Coalition and Wichita State to partner with the Knight Foundation to pursue such a worthy mission."
The Knight Foundation Fund is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, which invests in journalism, the arts and the success of cities where brothers John S. and James L. Knight once published newspapers.
The Wichita Community Foundation, which administers the Knight Foundation Fund, is a nonprofit organization with nearly 300 charitable funds and agency endowments, representing $70 million.