Church Ruins-to-Garden Project Among National Competition Winners
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA project designed to improve quality-of-life and civic engagement in Gary is one of 33 winners of a national competition. A nearly $165,000 grant from the James L. Knight Foundation will support the Gary Redevelopment Commission’s City Church Ruins Garden effort downtown. The project involves transforming the ruins of an abandoned church into a garden and events space.
Gary is one of 26 cities where the nonprofit invests. Fort Wayne is another, but was not a recipient in this cycle. Previous Gary projects to receive funding from the Knight Cities Challenge include ArtHouse: A Social Kitchen and Steel City Salvage. A total of four Fort Wayne projects and three from Gary were selected as finalists in January.
Knight Foundation Director for Community and National Initiatives George Abbott says "these Knight Cities Challenge winners will help to create avenues for people to contribute to their community. Their ideas propose to bring together diverse residents, ensure talent thrives, and connect people to place, giving them a stake in city-building."
The organization says challenge winners focus three drivers of success: Talent, Opportunity and Engagement.
You can connect to the full list of winners by clicking here.