With nearly 350 participants in our virtual HomeToday workshop series and an exciting I PROMISE Housing groundbreaking — the impact of COVID-19 has not stopped the East Akron Development Corporation (EANDC) from advancing our mission to decrease the housing gap and strengthen communities in Summit and Stark counties.
As we reflect on the past year, we are deeply grateful for the commitment of our staff members and board of directors who were resilient and creative in response to the challenges of an ongoing pandemic and its resulting financial and health crises.
The commitment of our team and extended community has been a source of hope over the past year, and below are a few highlights worth celebrating:
Ongoing partnership and support from NeighborWorks America — Throughout 2021, NeighborWorks America organized a national educational campaign to provide their partner agencies and homeowners with education to recognize and avoid foreclosure scams. With the pandemic-related unemployment and housing crisis still unfolding, homeowners who struggle to make payments are also more likely to be victimized. Being a charter member of the NeighborWorks America network allows us to extend their resources to the communities we serve.
Holiday Gift Giving Continued, Thank You — Every year, our social services staff coordinates gifts for local families. This year, we were able to provide gifts to 3 EANDC families with a wonderful Christmas. From Lori Haren, social services coordinator, “Thank you to everyone who donated, helped wrap, helped organize and helped deliver these gifts! We provided 13 kids with presents to open and huge smiles on their faces Christmas morning! I look forward to this every year and enjoy every minute of it.”
EANDC Breaks Ground on I PROMISE Housing Development — On September 29, 2021, EANDC hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking to highlight their key partners in the funding and vision for a long term housing development that will serve students and families of the LeBron James Family Foundation I Promise schools. James’ mother, Gloria James and Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan both spoke at the event. In his speech Horrigan said, “If a student doesn’t need to worry about where their next meal is coming from, or where they lay their head at night, if they don’t have to worry about basic survival, then they do have a real opportunity to thrive in an educational setting.”
EANDC, as the owner and developer, worked with seven different entities to pull together $15,500,000 of financing for the development of this project. LJFF’s role involves extending its provision of wraparound support to the I PROMISE Housing development, including access to a state-of-the-art Family Resource Center and dedicated staff to administer a wealth of community resources including job and family services, medical and mental healthcare, educational and career advancement training, and financial literacy programming.We became stronger, again. The annual report can create a sense of “delayed gratification” for nonprofit professionals who don’t often get to summarize and reflect on their progress until a year later, when all the reports have been finalized and outcomes measured. It’s worth celebrating; however, that the recent release of our 2020 annual report showed EANDC’s organizational strength and stability during a year when many nonprofits and businesses struggled to survive. We are deeply grateful for the efforts of our staff , board members, and the outpouring of community support that helped EANDC face the unknown and prepare for the unthinkable — which continues to disproportionately impact marginalized communities like those we serve.
Click here to view an online summary of the 2020 EANDC Annual Report, released prior to our annual meeting October 27, 2021.
As President/CEO, Cheryl Stephens, and Board President, David Buchanan, shared in their letter to the community, “the dedicated EANDC staff is what makes our work possible, so our most important goal for 2020 was to ensure their safety and security in spite of the challenges the pandemic has caused. In return, our employees worked tirelessly and creatively to support each other and our tenants.”
We are proud to report that EANDC continues to survive the unthinkable and our staff team looks forward to a bright future, strengthened by the challenges we have faced and overcome together.
Thanks, also, to these funding partners that serve as a foundation for our work: Akron Community Foundation, Capital One, CF Bank, Collaborative of Ohio, Fifth Third Bank, Key Bank, NeighborWorks America, Ohio CDC, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo