Date: September 15, 2021
Contact:
Sam Wells, Neighborhood Stabilization Coordinator
ALBANY, NY – Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan announced today that the City of Albany was one of eight cities selected to participate in the Cities of Service Love Your Block Grant Program. The City of Albany will receive a $100,000 grant over two years to support resident-led efforts to combat blight and fund a Love Your Block fellow selected from the community, as well as one AmeriCorps VISTA member. The funding allocation will allow the City to award mini-grants to residents and other community partners to reduce blight and spur neighborhood-driven change.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said – “I am thrilled that Albany is among the recipients of the Love Your Block Grant Program. The award is a testament to my administration’s commitment to equity, combatting blight, and ensuring that every neighborhood works. I look forward to working with our residents and community partners and seeing what transformative changes are made to our neighborhoods. Thank you to Cities of Service for selecting the City of Albany for this award. ”
Individuals interested in being considered for the AmeriCorps VISTA fellowship or Love Your Block Fellowship positions should contact email Sam Wells, Neighborhood Stabilization Coordinator, City of Albany, NY or call 518-694-4813 no later than October 1, 2021.
About Love Your Block
Love Your Block is a Cities of Service grant program that brings city leaders and residents together to build stronger neighborhoods, one block at a time. Since 2009, Cities of Service has helped nearly 50 cities implement Love Your Block programs. More than 26,000 community members have revitalized over 3,500 community spaces, creating nearly 750 art displays, cleaning 98,000 square feet of graffiti, removing 6 million pounds of trash, and much more.
A study by the Urban Institute found that Love Your Block programs helped cities fight blight by supporting resident-led projects and also formed reciprocal relationships between residents and city hall that helped spur citizen-centered innovations in policy and practice. The report built on an earlier Urban Institute report finding that the connections forged between city leaders and residents at the neighborhood level can be one of the most important catalysts for collective action by neighborhood residents. This connection between city officials and residents both boost the social capital exercised by residents who plan and implement Love Your Block projects and strengthen social cohesion.
About Cities of Service
Cities of Service helps mayors build stronger cities by changing the way local government and residents work together. Cities of Service helps coalition cities tap into resident insights, skills, and service to identify and solve critical public problems. Founded in 2009 by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Cities of Service supports a coalition of more than 280 cities, representing more than 84 million people across the Americas and Europe. Now situated at Johns Hopkins University, you can learn more about Cities of Service at citiesofservice.jhu.edu and by following them on Twitter @citiesofservice.
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