Lake City partners announce $550,000 grant
Children’s Home Society of Washington (CHSW), Lake City Future First and Lake City Neighborhood Alliance have received a $550,000 multi-year neighborhood grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation.
The grant will allow CHSW and partners to implement a neighborhood plan that will help improve the quality of life for children and families in the Lake City neighborhood.
The comprehensive, resident-driven neighborhood plan includes the development of a new Lake City community center, public park improvements, enhancing enjoylakecity.org as an online community portal, establishing a youth advisory board, and funding for community navigator positions.
Photo from left to right: Sandy Motzer, board chair of Lake City Neighborhood Alliance; Ann Fuller, Director of Services in North King County; Rod Kaseguma, board member, CHSW; Neal Lessenger, CHSW Board Chair; Sharon Osborne, CHSW President/CEO; Chris Leverson, Executive Director, Lake City Future First; Jon Fotoohi, North Seattle District Manager, Wells Fargo; Dwight Prevo, VP of Community Relations West, Wells Fargo; Tommy Wang, Branch Manager, Wells Fargo.
The grant was announced at a special presentation with Dwight Prevo, Wells Fargo Vice President of Community Relations West and CHSW President/CEO Sharon Osborne at 10 a.m. April 12 at the Lake City Community Center, 12531 28th Ave. N.E. in Seattle.
The Lake City neighborhood is one of six communities nationwide that Wells Fargo has chosen to participate in its National Neighborhood Grants Program pilot. The program hinges on increasing resident engagement in the neighborhood revitalization process and ensuring community voices are represented.
“Children’s Home Society of Washington is honored to work alongside the Wells Fargo Foundation and our partners, Lake City Future First and Lake City Neighborhood Alliance, to build a strong community for our children and families in Lake City,” said Osborne. “This grant provides a strong foundation to begin implementing the neighborhood-driven community plan that will improve the quality of life for all in Lake City.”
“The Lake City Neighborhood Alliance is excited to once again be a senior partner in the Wells Fargo Foundation neighborhood grant,” said Sandy Motzer, board chair of Lake City Neighborhood Alliance. “This new five-year effort will provide the opportunity for our community to finalize the neighborhood plan that we developed last year and to begin implementing that plan to make Lake City a better place to live, work, learn and play.”
“We are so thrilled that this investment is being made in our community,” said Chris Leverson, director of Lake City Future First. “With a community-driven action plan in hand we are ready to work collectively on issues around housing, displacement of residents and small businesses, neighborhood place making, parks and open space and all the elements needed to make Lake City a vibrant, healthy and livable neighborhood for all.”
For more information about CHSW, visit www.childrenshomesociety.org. For more information about Lake City Future First, visit http://lakecityfuturefirst.org. For more information about Lake City Neighborhood Alliance, visit http://lcna-seattle.org.
Jennifer Parsons is the marketing communications manager for CHSW.