SPONSORS OF TODAY’S WALK
The organiza4ons sponsoring today’s walk include local development agencies and non-‐profit groups devoted to improving the ac4vi4es, the walkability and the accessibility of the Dudley Square neighborhood. Discover Roxbury Founded in 1998, Discover Roxbury began as an organiza4on focused on Roxbury's history. At present, Discover Roxbury is an ar4st-‐run en4ty that promotes civic engagement and economic development in Roxbury through tours and events that promote the neighborhood's ar4s4c, cultural, historic, and culinary assets. Signature programming includes Roxbury Open Studios, the High Notes of Jazz Roxbury walking tour, the Radical Roxbury bike tour, and spring4me garden tours of Roxbury, as well as the annual celebra4ons: the Black & White Party (March) and Heart of the Hub (October). Discover Roxbury is also an advocate for Roxbury's cultural community. The organiza4on provides ar4sts working in all mediums with opportuni4es for sales and exhibi4ons, produces an annual guide to art and cultural events in Roxbury, and aMends key citywide events that promote Roxbury and its cultural contribu4ons to a broader audience. Discover Roxbury's work is accomplished with a team of collaborators, including residents, businesses, area ins4tu4ons, and our cultural partners in the Roxbury Cultural Network. Learn more about our work at discoverroxbury.org.
Alterna7ves for Community & Environment (A.C.E.) ACE’s mission, is to build the power of communi7es of color and low-‐income communi7es in MassachusePs to eradicate environmental racism and classism, create healthy, sustainable communi7es, and achieve environmental jus7ce. ACE was founded in 1993 as an advocacy and ac4vist-‐based environmental jus4ce organiza4on and became a base-‐building membership organiza4on in 2005. Over the past 20 years ACE has employed a unique community organizing model that brings together hundreds of families and communi4es, develops their leadership and cri4cal analysis skills and links them to legal and technical assistance so that they may take a more ac4ve role in the decisions that affect their neighborhoods. ACE has a strong belief in the efficacy of the leadership of communi4es of color and low-‐income communi4es that are directly impacted by injus4ce. Throughout our years we have sought to lia up the exper4se of the lived experience of our communi4es through organizing campaigns as a basis for crea4ng policy and improving the condi4ons that our communi4es are facing. www.ace-‐ej.org
Dudley Square Main Streets Dudley Square Main Streets Revitaliza4on Corp. is a commercial revitaliza4on organiza4on located in Boston's historic Dudley Square Commercial District, "the Heart and Soul of Roxbury." Since 1995, Main Streets has worked to recruit new businesses, assist businesses with storefront renova4ons; provide technical assistance to business owners; work with developers on large anchor parcels, and celebrate the rich cultural diversity and history of the district. Main Streets works to ensure that the ideas and interests of residents and community stakeholders are incorporated into the city plans such as returning Dudley Square to an arts and Cultural District. Our primary focus is programs that create jobs and aMract and retain businesses www.dudleysquare.org
Madison Park Development Corpora7on Founded in 1966, Madison Park Development Corpora4on is one of the na4on's first community-‐ based, non-‐profit organiza4ons to develop affordable housing for low and moderate income residents. With a model of resident-‐led community development, MPDC has evolved to become a comprehensive agency promo4ng Roxbury’s revitaliza4on and redevelopment, developing more than 1,000 units of affordable housing and numerous programs to address the social and economic needs of the community, endeavoring to link all of its efforts into a sustainable, holis4c approach. MPDC’s Community Ac4on program includes ini4a4ves promo4ng Youth Leadership & Workforce Development, Resident Services & Leadership, Violence Preven4on and Public Safety, Health Equity & Community Wellness, and Civic Engagement, as convener of the RoxVote Coali4on. MPDC also promotes economic revitaliza4on through arts and culture and is based in and operates historic Hibernian Hall, built in 1913. www.madison-‐park.org
Dudley Street Neighborhood Ini7a7ve Dudley Street Neighborhood Ini4a4ve (DSNI) is a resident-‐led community change collabora4ve in the Dudley area of the Roxbury and North Dorchester neighborhoods of Boston. For 30 years DSNI has successfully engaged residents, partners and merchants in planning and development of blighted, vacant lots and promo4ng development without displacement. DSNI takes a comprehensive approach to neighborhood revitaliza4on, focusing on physical, social, human, economic growth. Join us in celebra4ng DSNI’s 30th Anniversary at our Annual Mee4ng on June 25th www.dsni.org
WalkBoston WalkBoston makes walking safer and easier to encourage beMer health, a cleaner environment and vibrant communi4es. Since 1990 we have worked with 101 MassachuseMs communi4es to make walking a basic part of the transporta4on discussion. Our educa4on and advocacy programs give voice to people to make their communi4es more walkable. We develop innova4ve programs that address social and physical barriers to walking, and we work to address the needs of people who depend on walking the most: transit riders, seniors, children, and people with disabili4es. We depend on the advocacy efforts of our many individual and organiza4onal partners, and every supporter strengthens our voice on behalf of pedestrians. “There’s a feisty group of folks who get excited over curb cuts, sidewalk materials and lane widths. They work 4relessly to ensure Boston is a walkable city, taking care that every development detail is scru4nized with the pedestrian in mind.” -‐ Michelle Hillman, Boston Business Journal 4/18/2005 www.walkboston.org
Boston Housing Authority The mission of Boston Housing Authority (BHA) is to: 1) provide stable, quality affordable housing for low and moderate income persons; 2) deliver these services with integrity and accountability; and 3) create environments that help catalyze the transforma4on from dependency to economic self-‐sufficiency. With the Choice Neighborhoods Ini4a4ve (CNI) centered at Whifer Street Development to the northwest of Dudley Square, BHA aims to build on the rich heritage of Lower Roxbury and work with residents to ensure that the resurgence of the neighborhood brings real benefits to community members. BHA is one of 17 awardees (out of 72 applicants) na4onwide to receive a 2012 CNI Planning Grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Agency. CNI provides planning and implementa4on funding to develop comprehensive, community-‐driven plans to revitalize distressed housing and transform neighborhoods. The goal is to improve the lives of area residents by crea4ng safe streets, beMer access to quality educa4onal and job opportuni4es that promote family self-‐sufficiency, a healthier environment and vibrant mixed-‐income/mixed-‐use communi4es. For more informa4on, please visit: www.boston housing.org
Nuestra Comunidad Development Corpora7on A nonprofit small business working in Roxbury and nearby neighborhoods for more than 31 years, Nuestra Comunidad Development Corpora4on has been crea4ng opportunity for residents and businesses to stabilize their homes, revitalize their community, increase their incomes, gain wealth and improve community health. In 1981, residents of the Dudley Square neighborhood in Roxbury created Nuestra Comunidad Development Corpora4on to take control of the land, build new housing, and combine their energies to create a beMer future. Today, Nuestra Comunidad Development Corpora4on is one of Boston’s oldest and most successful community development corpora4ons. Our mission statement guides our work: Nuestra Comunidad is devoted to building the wealth and enhancing the physical, economic, and social well-‐ being of Roxbury and other underserved popula=ons in greater Boston through a community-‐driven process that promotes self-‐sufficiency and neighborhood revitaliza=on. www.nuestracdc.org