LIVING UNITED
2011, ISSUE I
Weinland Park Collaborative: Empowering Residents to Build a Vibrant Neighborhood The Weinland Park Collaborative was launched in August, 2010, at the Weinland Park Neighborhood Festival — and everyone was invited. That launch says a lot about how the Collaborative operates, everyone has a seat at the table, especially residents. The Collaborative is a unique partnership that brings together more than 20 organizations all with the goal of enhancing the quality of life for current and future residents by connecting them to one another and to a vibrant, diverse community. Focusing on workforce development, education, healthy living, public safety, youth engagement and resident leadership, the Collaborative builds on years of planning and strategic investment in Weinland Park.
abandoned housing by one-third in these priority neighborhoods. The Columbus Foundation soon joined Chase and UWCO in also selecting Weinland Park as a priority area and established its first place-based grant making strategy in the neighborhood. The Collaborative is capitalizing on the momentum created by the years of positive activity by developing innovative ways to accelerate progress. For example, United Way has recently used the community conversation model developed in its education mobilization work to listen deeply to the opinions and concerns of Weinland Park youth. This insight will influence the way our civic engagement work is done as we move forward, and is indicative of a consistent approach — always putting input from the residents at the center of change. Another element of this approach is the research study funded by Collaborative partner The Columbus Foundation in which 26% of the households of Weinland Park were interviewed to get their views on life in the neighborhood and how it could be improved.
From 2004 to 2006, the City of Columbus led a community-based process that resulted in the Weinland Park Neighborhood Plan — a vision for the neighborhood and concrete recommendations for improvements. Major public investments “Engaging community followed. The Ohio members is not just the State University right thing to do, it is constructed the the most effective way to Schoenbaum create lasting change,” Family Center, the said Dominique Jones, VP first universityCommunity Engagement sponsored early at United Way. “Helping childhood education develop resident leaders laboratory located is at the heart of what in a neighborhood the Collaborative is of need. Columbus doing, and is an area City Schools built the The Weinland Park Collaborative is helping residents channel their energy and volunteer spirit to where United Way has new Weinland Park build a stronger neighborhood. years of experience.” Elementary School. Early work in this area is already paying off. Because of strong resident Ohio State and the city jointly funded the construction of the Northside interest and strategic investments, Weinland Park now has a thriving Neighborhood Pride Center that also houses a police precinct substation. youth football league, community gardens, a walking club and a growing At the same time, the JP Morgan Chase Foundation made improving civic association that distributes regular newsletters to every home in the Weinland Park a philanthropic priority and to date has invested more than neighborhood. $6 million. And between 2004 and 2009, Ohio Capital Corporation for Jeff Lyttle, Midwest Region Executive for the JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Housing and Campus Partners spent more than $30 million to renovate sums up the Collaborative’s transformational efforts: “We are deeply 350 low-income housing units throughout the neighborhood. committed to ensuring that Weinland Park is revitalized as the safe, United Way of Central Ohio has invested in Weinland Park for several vibrant, diverse neighborhood it once was. We believe the holistic decades through our support of Godman Guild, and in 2007, Weinland Park approach the Collaborative is taking that empowers residents to keep was selected as one of the five priority neighborhoods where United Way progress going is the most successful way to achieve that goal.” will concentrate efforts in our Home impact area. In 2009, our community’s Bold Goals included reducing crime by 30% and reducing vacant and