Neighborhoods | Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation

Strategic Neighborhood Transformation

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YNDC Awarded $100,000 from Citi Department of Justice Settlement Agreement

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Tuesday, September 8, 2015

On Tuesday, September 8th, YNDC was awarded a $100,000 one-time grant from Citibank pursuant to its settlement with the US Department of Justice.

The settlement funds will be utilized by the agency to provide foreclosure prevention and other housing counseling and education services.

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‘Day of Caring’ Cleans Up South Side Neighborhood - Business Journal

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Standing atop a black box truck, “REVITALIZE” emblazoned on each side, in the parking lot of St. Dominic Church, the executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., Ian Beniston, shouted instructions to the 400 volunteers.

By the time he and his five co-workers had climbed down from the truck a few minutes later, groups – some only five or six, others 20 or 30 – were filing out onto the streets, ready to begin the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley’s Day of Caring.

After months of planning, volunteers descended on nearly 90 houses in the Cottage Grove neighborhood, ready to clean out yards and sheds, board up windows and, in some cases, remove them.

Work for YNDC began about six months ago, the director said, by canvassing the neighborhood and determining which blighted houses needed work. The biggest logistical challenge, he said, was measuring windows on each houses to make sure the boards were cut to the right size.

“This is a huge amount of work in a relatively contained space. This is probably one of the largest blight fighting events we’ve done in the last five years,” Beniston said. “I like fighting blight. So to see 400 other people out here ready to do this, there aren’t really words to describe it.”

Volunteers from all walks of life poured into Cottage Grove: high school students, hockey coaches, members of City Council, waiters and waitresses, and factory workers all turned out for the United Way Day of Caring.

“It’s something that we’re excited to help the community out with,” said John Wroblewski, head coach of the Youngstown Phantoms. “It’s important to leave places better than you found them. If we can help people in the short term, and hopefully inspire people in the long term, then we’ve done our community justice.”

Twenty of the Phantoms were in the neighborhood shoveling debris and cleaning out empty garages, Wroblewski said.

Several groups of high school students were working to reduce blight instead of taking the day off as part of their Labor Day weekend.

“We all want to make this community a better place and represent what Youngstown and this area is all about,” said Kristen Fernberg from Boardman High School. “It’s good to give back every once in a while. None of us had school today, so we thought this would be a good way to spend the day. It’s a nice way to help people.”

Fernberg and her classmates were assigned to clean up trash and remove debris from the yards of houses.

The sheer number of volunteers played a big role in the success many deemed the Day of Caring.

“The manpower that’s out here today will do a tremendous job for us,” said Mayor John McNally. “The folks here today will provide a lot more work than the city can provide on a daily basis and have a longer-lasting impact.”

Rather than a few spots of blight remediated here and there, Beniston agreed, doing 88 in one day show the residents of the neighborhood what can be done.

“They can see a bunch of stuff happening in a single day rather than something here and there over a few weeks or a year,” he said. “It’s a quick impact.”

During the cleanup, shortly after the first volunteers arrived to gather broken branches, residents along Auburndale Avenue sat on their front porches to watch the volunteers.

In total, 675 volunteers from 53 companies and organizations spread across the South Side, participating in projects that ranged from landscaping to handing out free smoke detectors to working with kids.

Last year, there were about 600 volunteers, according to Bob Hannon, president of United Way of Youngstown. The number has been on the rise several years.

“The work in the community is rewarding and people are happy when they can go out and make a difference,” he said. “They tell their co-workers about everything they did, so more and more employees at our companies want to do it. The message is resonating about what United Way is doing.”

The day also marks the formal start of the United Way’s annual campaign. This year, the regional United Way is looking to raise $2.6 million by the end of the year. More than $800,000 has been raised.

At the kickoff breakfast, the president of General Motors North America, Alan Batey, announced that the automaker would match dollar for dollar the contributions GM employees make to United Way.

“We want to give back to the communities where we manufacture and where we live. It’s important to us,” he said.” But it’s not just about writing a check. It’s about doing things in the community. This is what it’s all about. It’s about giving your time to be part of the community. And we’re a big part of this community.”

Batey is also the global chief of the Chevrolet brand and the United States.

After the breakfast in Covelli Centre, he toured the General Motors Lordstown Complex.

“The opportunity to come here combined with going to the plant was one I couldn’t miss. I wanted to be here and be part of it,” he said. “It’s about our employees and UAW members who give through payroll deductions. I wanted to be here to say, ‘Thank you.’”

To view full coverage, click here.

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Volunteers Clean Up Youngstown in Day of Caring - WYTV

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Paul Ciarniello was one of about 450 people who helped clean up Youngstown’s Cottage Grove neighborhood off of South Avenue.

The revitalization effort is a way for Day of Caring volunteers to make a big impact on behalf of the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley.

“We like to do this because it’s like instant gratification,” Ciarniello said. “We really get to see the change before we leave.”

“Many of these homes in these neighborhoods are still very nice, but then maybe right beside them is a blighted home,” the United Way’s Bob Hannon said. “We want to clean up, board them up, so the rest of the neighbors feel proud about their neighborhood again.”

United Way partnered with the city of Youngstown, the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation and Green Youngstown to figure out which areas needed the most work.

Last year, volunteers helped board up 20 vacant houses. They more than tripled that number this year with 70.

“I was surprised at how much could be cleaned up. A lot of them started off rough, but it ends up looking pretty nice,” Mickey Ewing with Dearing Compressor and Pump Co. said.

Volunteers cut down trees and brush and pulled out garbage from properties, including tires and other debris. The landscaping was hard work in the heat, but well worth it for them in the end.

The Day of Caring also included hundreds of United Way volunteers working at various non-profit agencies throughout the Valley.

“We’re going to keep growing. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get 700 to 750 volunteers next year, maybe 800,” Hannon said. “The more people we can get, the greater impact we can make.”

General Motors North America President and Chairman of the GM United Way campaign Ian Batey made a stop at the breakfast to talk to volunteers and thank them for their hard work.

To view full coverage, click here.

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GM Execs Driven to Fuel Valley United Way's Day of Caring - Vindicator

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John Wroblewski was named head coach of the Youngstown Phantoms in July, but on Friday morning he was just one of the volunteers clearing debris and junk from blighted homes on East Auburndale Avenue.

“To see the community rally around this is awesome,” he said.

Volunteers sported orange shirts to recognize United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley’s 18th annual Day of Caring. About 700 volunteers came out for the kickoff breakfast at the Covelli Centre before heading out to do service projects in conjunction with United Way’s 16 partner agencies.

“It’s our largest [event] ever,” said Bob Hannon, United Way president and chief professional officer.

The event kicks off the 2015 United Way Campaign. Hannon announced that United Way raised $845,818, or 33 percent, of its $2.6 million goal for the campaign.

Alan Batey, General Motors president of North America, arrived from Detroit on Thursday night to speak at the kickoff. He announced that this year GM will match contributions to United Way from employees across the nation including those at the General Motors Lordstown Complex, where the best-selling Chevrolet Cruze is built.

“It’s when we give that truly makes a difference,” he said.

Last year, the Lordstown plant raised $145,000 for the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and $121,000 for the United Way of Trumbull County, said United Auto Workers Local 1714 President Robert Morales, who represents the fabrication plant workers.

Hannon said GM was its biggest supporter. About 30 GM employees attended the event.

“That’s a beautiful car,” Hannon said.

The event brought together volunteers from 54 businesses and organizations. There also were 55 students from Boardman, Valley Christian and Summit Academy schools. About 400 United Way volunteers helped revitalize the South Side neighborhood in partnership with the city and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.

“We can’t do it alone,” Hannon said.

Those who donate $5 a week, or $260, to the campaign are entered into a drawing to win a Chevrolet Colorado or $15,000 cash donated by the Greenwood Chevrolet dealership in Austintown. Five finalists are picked from both the United Way of Youngstown and Mahoning Valley and the United Way of Trumbull County. The drawing is done in January or February.

The event was sponsored by Huntington Bank and Hometown Pharmacy.

“At Huntington, we believe in doing the right thing,” said William Shivers, the bank’s Greater Akron/Canton region and Mahoning Valley region president.

“We’ve gone from funding organizations to really impacting community needs,” said Garry Mrozek, chief executive officer at Hometown and who serves on United Way’s board.

To read the full story at Vindy.com, click here.

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Volunteers Clean Up Youngstown in Day of Caring - WKBN