Neighborhoods

Monday, October 28, 2024.

On Thursday, October 24, the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) awarded $5,000,000 in Welcome Home Ohio (WHO) program funding to Mahoning County Land Bank (MCLB) in partnership with the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) to create new affordable housing opportunities.

The ODOD grant will be used to construct 19 new homes for affordable homeownership. The new homes will be constructed in multiple neighborhoods throughout Youngstown and Mahoning County.

More information will be provided in the months to come. Huge thanks to the Mahoning County Land Bank for the ongoing partnership and to the Welcome Home Ohio program! REVITALIZE!
 

On Thursday, October 24, YNDC joined Produce Perks, the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley, the Health Community Partnership, Mercy Community Health, local farmers, and the Mercy Health Foundation to discuss nutrition incentive and produce prescription programs and their impact on Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley. The discussion included an overview of the Produce Perks program, the Glenwood Fresh Market, impact of the programs on participants, support of local farmers, partnership with Mercy Community Health, and the investment in the programs by the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley and Mercy Health Foundation. Thank you to all the participants!

Mahoning and Columbiana Counties will be receiving some state funding from the “Welcome Home Ohio” program which helps land banks purchase, rehabilitate or build homes for Ohioans. The Columbiana County Land Bank will get $1.65 million to purchase six homes at Orchard Hill Estates in Leetonia along with $615,000 to purchase and rehabilitate six homes in East Palestine. Meanwhile, in Mahoning County, the City of Struthers Land Reutilization Corporation will receive $2.75 million to purchase 10 newly built homes and the Mahoning County Land Bank will get $5 million to purchase 19 new homes.

To read the full story frow WKBN, click here.

More affordable housing is coming to the Mahoning Valley. The Columbiana and Mahoning County Land Banks received millions in grants to build more homes and sell them at a low cost. “We have so many people who need safe affordable housing and there's plenty of room,” Debora Flora, Executive Director of the Mahoning County Land Bank said. Mahoning County will get 19 new homes in and around Youngstown. They will all be at least three bedrooms and two bathrooms and will be priced under $180,000. 

To read the full  story from WFMJ, click here.

The songs on Anthony LaMarca’s new album, “Aspiration,” are both a remembrance of his late father and an exploration of the relationship they shared. The Boardman rocker wrote the 10 songs in the aftermath of his father’s death in 2022. “My father died somewhat suddenly,” LaMarca said. “[The songs are] about me processing that grief and trying to deal with how I was feeling about his life.”

LaMarca, who is also a guitarist for the Grammy Award-winning rock band The War on Drugs, releases his solo albums under the moniker The Building. He said his father has silently been an influence on every record he has made. “In some way, they’re all records about my relationship with him,” he said. While his father was never a serious musician, he was “a great music appreciator,” LaMarca said.

The cover of Anthony LaMarca’s new album, “Aspiration,” shows a photo of the artist’s late father at his first Holy Communion. “He gave me a stack of records of his favorite bands when I was a kid,” LaMarca recalled. “He loved everything from Grand Funk Railroad to jazz. He had a wide musical taste, which influenced me. He was always a main influence on me.”

LaMarca’s songwriting skills are on display on the release. While his melodies are understated and gently paced, one can hear the grandiosity in them. The subject matter actually goes beyond the father-son relationship. It expands into LaMarca’s memories and grows outward from there.

One song, “Father Madden,” is about a Roman Catholic monk who lived in Youngstown’s Idora neighborhood when LaMarca was in high school. Madden, a devout man of God, was dismissed by the Carmelite Order for disobedience but continued his ministry, holding services in his backyard and earning a national reputation in the process. He was known for delivering powerful sermons, which LaMarca often heard. “I would go to services at his house on Sundays,” he said. “He was a local legend, a uniquely Youngstown thing. He was not part of the church anymore but had his own Catholic church services out of his house.”

Madden died in 2012, and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation gained control of his house. But through the help of a friend who was involved in the transaction, LaMarca gained possession of the tabernacle at Madden’s house.

To read the full story from The Business Journal, click here. 

Thursday, October 31, 2024

On October 31, The Huntington Foundation awarded YNDC with a $25,000 grant for Housing Counseling. The Housing Counseling Program empowers low- to moderate-income residents to identify and overcome barriers to homeownership, including inadequate savings, income, credit history, and understanding of the home buying process, and prepares them for future homeownership; and provides existing low- to moderate-income homeowners with resources to maximize their limited incomes and minimize repair costs so that they can avoid foreclosure and improve their living conditions.

Many thanks to The Huntington Foundation and Huntington National Bank for their ongoing support!

Monday, November 11, 2024

On Friday, November 8, the Senator Maurice and Florence Lipscher Charitable Fund awarded a $7,500 grant for the Glenwood Neighbors Community Safety program.  The program will engage residents and business owners in the neighborhoods along Glenwood Avenue in Youngstown in a coordinated effort to prevent crime by using evidence-based practices for crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), including installing lighting and doorbell security cameras on homes, businesses, and in public spaces that are in the vicinity of hotspots of violent crime. YNDC will work with resident leaders, business owners, and the Youngstown Police Department to implement the program. Many thanks to the Senator Maurice and Florence Lipscher Charitable Fund!
 

Monday, November 11, 2024

On Wednesday, November 6, the Rotary Club of Youngstown made a $3,700 donation to the Foster Theater project. The funds will be used for the restoration of the marquee. Thank you very much to the Youngstown Rotary Club!

As part of its annual “Giving Tuesday And Beyond” campaign, the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley once again is committing $50,000 to match donations to its agency funds. On Giving Tuesday, celebrated this year on Dec. 3, the Community Foundation will boost each donation of at least $10, providing an extra $25 for every unique donor to a fund and turning the minimum donation into a $35 contribution. However, the support doesn’t end there. For other days that week, between Dec. 2 and 8, the foundation will match donations dollar for dollar, up to $1,250 for each agency fund.

Last year’s “Giving Tuesday And Beyond” campaign brought in more than $235,000 to agency funds at the Community Foundation, with more than 1,000 donors giving a total of $90,606. “We were astounded to have such an incredible response to ‘Giving Tuesday And Beyond’ last year, and we’re just as excited to see what the Mahoning Valley community does this year,” said Community Foundation President Casey Krell. “With an average gift of $20, last year’s campaign showed that anyone can be a philanthropist. All it takes is giving back to a cause you care about, whether that’s with a few dollars as you can afford it, volunteering or spreading the word about their work.” she said.

The Giving Tuesday matching program is supported by the Arnett Family Fund, created by the estate of Diana R. Arnett, to support education, the arts and underserved communities in the Mahoning Valley. The fund is now part of the pool of discretionary resources available for the Community Foundation to address community needs. Beginning Dec. 2, donations can be made online at CFMV.org/agency-funds or by mailing a check to the Community Foundation of the Mahoning Valley at 201 E. Commerce St. Suite 150 Youngstown, OH 44503 with the name of the donor’s chosen agency fund in the memo line.

The agency funds housed at the Community Foundation are:

• Animal Charity of Ohio Fund (new in 2024)

• Angels for Animals Endowment Fund

• Association of Fundraising Professionals Mahoning-Shenango Chapter Fund

• Autism Society of the Mahoning Valley Fund

• Beatitude House Endowment Fund.

• Bridgeway to Thriving Funds (Thrive 10:10, new in 2024)

• Community Living Endowment Fund

• Doris Burdman Fund for Mental Health (COMPASS Family & Community Services)

• Easter Seals Building Tomorrows Fund

• Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning Valley Fund (new in 2024)

• Inspiring Minds Youngstown Inc. Fund (new in 2024)

• Interfaith Home Maintenance Service Fund (Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.)

To read the full story from the Tribune Chronicle, click here.