WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 5, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — LISC is announcing its first grants in Peoria this week, providing “early action” funding for improvement projects focused on the East Bluff and the South Side neighborhoods. Totaling $125,000, these grants are the start of what is expected to be millions of dollars in investment in Peoria’s neighborhoods. “These small grants can have a significant impact, especially when we’re looking at a comprehensive effort to lift a targeted area,” said Brandon Holmes, executive director of Peoria LISC. “These are the kinds of local projects that connect to each in order to improve safety, help raise property values, and create opportunities for residents that might not otherwise exist.”
PEORIA (April 3, 2013) —The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is announcing its first grants in Peoria this week, providing “early action” funding for improvement projects focused on the East Bluff and the South Side neighborhoods.
More than $125,000 in grants will go directly to groups working to develop community gardens, nutrition classes and exercise opportunities; install better lighting in alleys that are crime havens; support GED and literacy classes; and create jobs for young people, among many other things. These are the first of what are expected to be millions of dollars in investments in affordable housing, economic development, safety, health and education programs in Peoria neighborhoods, according to Brandon Holmes, executive director of Greater Peoria LISC.
Notable among the grants are several focused on work in one East Bluff corridor, running along Kansas Street between Wisconsin and New York avenues. LISC is working with the Peoria Opportunities Foundation and other non-profits to launch a youth employment training program, landscaping/beautification work, home assessment and repairs for residents, and more.
The coordinated efforts in the East Bluff is designed to better link the Glen Oak Community Learning Center and the Boys and Girls Club to the new East Bluff Community Center by making it a safer, cleaner more vibrant area to support young people.
“These small grants can have a significant impact, especially when we’re looking at a comprehensive effort to lift a targeted area,” Holmes said. “These are the kinds of local projects that connect to each in order to improve safety, help raise property values, and create opportunities for residents that might not otherwise exist.”
Greater Peoria LISC is the national organization’s first new local program in more than a decade. Announced last summer, the program has now opened its local office and is working with community organizations to assess opportunities. These are its first local grants.
“Capacity-building with community-based groups is going to be crucial for us,” Holmes said. “When you consider the work to be done around affordable housing in these areas—when you consider how much residents need new businesses and new jobs to come to these neighborhoods—it becomes clear. We’re focused on building up local organizations as well as investing in specific projects so that we can all help improve the quality of life here in significant, lasting ways.”
In addition to the Peoria Opportunities Foundation, other organizations getting early action funding include East Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services, the Boys and Girls Club, Keep Peoria Beautiful, Children’s Home, Friendship House, Crittenton Centers, and Peoria Park District Foundation. A list of specific projects to be funded is available on our web site at www.lisc.org/peoria.
About LISC
LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help nonprofit community development corporations revitalize distressed neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has invested $12.9 billion to build or rehab 298,300 affordable homes and apartments and develop 49 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. For more, visit www.lisc.org.
Contact:
Brandon Holmes
309-676-5472 or
