Blueprint Communities Delaware holds symposium
The Edgemoor Revitalization Cooperative took first place in the Blueprint Communities initiative.
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12:05 p.m., Jan. 21, 2009----Who has more invested or cares more about a neighborhood than the people who live and work there -- that's the underlying principle of Blueprint Communities Delaware, a grassroots organization that celebrated its accomplishments in revitalizing older neighborhoods during the Delaware Community Revitalization Symposium held Friday, Jan. 16, at Arsht Hall on the University of Delaware's Wilmington campus.

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Blueprint Communities Delaware is a joint initiative of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLB-PGH) and the University of Delaware's Center for Community Research and Service (CCRS), which offered training, mini-grants and improved access to funding sources to nine participating neighborhood teams of civic leaders.

University President Patrick Harker, Michael Gamel-McCormick, interim dean of the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy (CHEP), and Steve Peuquet, director of CCRS, were among those representing UD.

FHLB-PGH was represented by John Bendel, vice president for community investment, and Dave Buches.

The symposium was a celebration of the completion of training and graduation of nine teams, representing Belvedere/Cedar Heights and Vicinity, Wilmington area; the Dover Community Partnership; East Side, Wilmington; Edgemoor, Wilmington area; Hilltop/Little Italy, Wilmington; Historic Overlook Colony Vicinity, Wilmington area; Riverside Initiative, Wilmington; Rose Hill, New Castle County and Second District, Wilmington.

The initiative was announced in March 2008 when each team received intensive training, which was organized by CCRS and coordinated by Raheema Jabbar-Bey, UD assistant professor of urban affairs and public policy.

The culmination of the symposium was a graduation talk by Harker, who handed out the certificates to the team members.

“The Blueprint Communities project is an excellent example of the power of partnership, and we are committed to creating innovative partnerships with lots of people who serve the needs of our state, our nation and our world,” Harker said.

Thanking the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh and also the Delaware Community Investment Corporation, Harker congratulated the team members for enlisting friends and residents in the communities into the project, with a multiplier effect.

“Working to make change in your community is hard to do but it is important, and with many people you can make this happen,” Harker said, encouraging the teams to redouble their efforts to implement programs and projects to bring revitalized communities to fruition.

“I am awed by what the teams have accomplished,” CCRS director Stephen Peuquet said. “The Federal Home Loan Bank has financed initiatives in other regions but are most impressed by how the Delaware teams have performed. We in the field of education focus on training and empowerment, but the real credit rests with the individuals who make up the teams.”

Gamel-McCormick said he was astounded by the energy and focus and breadth of the plans, pointing how common needs bring about partnerships.

The accomplishments of Blueprint Communities Delaware were acclaimed by government officials, including then Governor-elect Jack Markell, U.S. Rep. Michael Castle (R-Del.), New Castle County Executive Chris Coons, Wilmington Mayor James Baker and Dover Mayor Carleton Cary Sr., who all spoke at the symposium.

Castle talked about the importance of community -- how everyone was from a neighborhood, sharing schools, stores and places of worship, and how from these smaller neighborhoods, larger communities are built.

Castle thanked UD and FHLB-PGH and encouraged the teams to make a difference and to tackle the problems they faced with “renewed vigor.”

Markell, who became governor shortly after midnight Monday, Jan. 19, during a ceremony in UD's Mitchell Hall, said in view of the financial challenges now facing the state, working together as communities is even more important.

He referred to a book, Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam, which recounts how neighborhoods have become less connected these past 50 years. He called the Blueprint Communities a “terrific program” with real people giving their time and energy to their communities to bring about change.

During the symposium, each team presented its accomplishments and plans for the future.

An example was the Dover Community Partnership presentation. In the historic section of Dover, the neighborhood was comprised of 28 percent married couples and 60 percent single females with a child or children. There was 27 percent home ownership.

The partnership committee walked the streets to get to know the community. Among the problems were substandard housing, poverty and crime.

On the plus side, Kent General Hospital, Wesley College are in the area, and there is a broad business base.

The team held focus meetings, hosted events and carried out surveys. Their goals are job development, improved housing opportunities with minimal displacement, the creation of a neighborhood watch group, improved lighting and safety.

According to the Dover team, the graduation event was not the end of their efforts but the beginning.

The afternoon concluded with the graduation ceremony and awards for the best plans and presentations and Harker handing certificates to all the participants. The three winning neighborhoods teams were Edgemoor Revitalization Cooperative, first place; Historic Overlook Colony and Vicinity, second place; and Eastside, third place.

Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Duane Perry

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