A CITY ON THE MOVE

Special points of interest:

> WRF Visits Jonesboro

> Grants Director Talks Out-comes

> New Cooking Matters Classes

Inside this issue:

WRF Visits Jonesboro 2

Meeting Highlights 2

NJNI Brings Outcomes 3

Cooking Matters 3

Board of Directors 4

Community Calendar 4

May 5 2013 Volume 2, Issue 11

In a couple of weeks, City Hall and NJNI will have a new address. The move from Washington to Church Street is a welcome change to city employees. The move is scheduled for May 15th and will allow the city to house most offices under one roof rather than scattered throughout the City.

The new City Hall is located at the corner of Church Street and Hunt-ington, in the old Mercantile Bank Building. The NJNI office will be lo-cated on the 4th floor in the Grants Department.

We hope you will stop by for a visit.

consultants Garland Yates and Lakedra Robertson.

During a discussion centered around com-munity engagement, WRF representatives and the NJNI coordi-nator agreed that the initiative could benefit from assistance with building resident en-gagement. Lakedra Robertson and Gar-land Yates will be working with us over the next few months as we attempt to move the needle to-ward more residents becoming engaged in change.

Earlier this week, rep-resentatives from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) vis-ited the City of Jones-boro to:

(1) plan for the WRF June 6-7 board meeting, which will be held in Jonesboro and;

(2) visit with the NJNI coordinator for an up-date on the initiative and to determine ways the foundation may be able to assist the initia-tive in achieving its mis-sion.

Representing WRF were: Takema Brad-berry, Senior Program Officer; Andrew Ford, Program Assistant; and

Page 2 North Jonesboro Neighborhood Initiative

Community Meeting

Winthrop Rockefeller Representatives Visit NJNI

Community Assists in

Gardens

Garland and Lakedra also met with residents

at Fisher Street United

Methodist Church to hear directly from resi-dents, and to give resi-dents an opportunity to ask questions and en-gage in dialog about what they believe should happen.

I am extremely excited and energized when I think about the future

of North Jonesboro and the endless possi-bilities for change. If NJNI is to be success-ful, it will take all of us working together. I hope you are ready to go on this journey with us!

Meeting Highlights

WRF—A meeting was held at Fisher Street United Methodist Church with representatives from the Rockefeller Foundation and the community. The meeting was held to get input from residents on the NJNI and the issue of community engagement.

Community Meeting—A community meeting was held on Thursday, April 25th at the E. Boone Watson Center. Julie Windberry of City Youth Ministries was the featured speaker. Julie updated us on CYM pro-grams and gave us an oppor-tunity to become a part of

the “365” Club.

We were glad to see new faces at the meeting and are looking forward to a special presentation later this month—stay tuned!

Page 3 Volume 2, Issue 11

North Jonesboro Neighborhood Initiative

We are currently

accepting

registrations for

upcoming classes.

COOKING MATTERS PREPARES FOR NEW CLASSES

NJNI and the Craighead County Extension Office are preparing for the next in-stallment of cooking classes. The classes teach low-income residents how to pre-pare healthy meals on a budget. Next week, two (classes) will begin. A class will be held on Tuesday, Mary 7th at 5:30 p.m., and a second class will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 9th. Both classes will be held at the Extension Office and will meet for six (6) consecutive weeks. (The 5:30 class is full).

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in the class, please call Emma Agnew at eagnew@jonesboro.org, or call 870-336-7210.

North Jonesboro Neighborhood Initiative

“The NJNI is a place-based change initiative meant to engage resi-

dents in a process of empower-

ment and positive change. . .”

In 2012, the City of Jonesboro secured a $100,000 grant from the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation to implement a North Jonesboro Neighborhood Initiative (NJNI) Strategic Plan. The NJNI is a “place-based change initiative” meant to en-gage residents in a process of empowerment and positive change for the commu-nity. The residents of north Jonesboro accepted the challenge and are driving this process, with the support of the City of Jonesboro. In late 2012, the city received its first ever AmeriCorps grant from the state of Arkansas. These service members are partnered with service delivery sites in the north Jonesboro community in an effort to fill “gaps” in services. Sites include ASU CARE, Jonesboro Police Department- Quality of Life Unit, Habitat for Hu-manity, City Youth Ministries, and the Jonesboro Schools. Other funding streams include the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance for a grand total of $245,500 to date in financial support from financial partners. Outcomes are tremendous. There are three (3) active and successful neighbor-hood networks; Over 500 residents attended the first community fair along with over 30 resource partners, including the Jonesboro Police Department; NJNI just graduated its first Cooking Matters class of seven (7) participants; a partner-ship with ASU Delta Center for Economic Development recently produced five (5) job-ready residents – one of which already has a job; and ten (10) residents will graduate from a financial literacy class this month, facilitated by BancorpSouth. The NJNI is well on its way to long term sustainability with an established Board of Directors, approved bylaws, and long term financial plan. The City of Jones-boro will always support the NJNI, as north Jonesboro is a vital part of the city and its future. -Heather Clements, Director Grants & Community Development City of Jonesboro (Written for City & Town Magazine)

May 7—Cooking Matters Class(5:30 p.m.) May 9—Cooking Matters Class (10:00 a.m.) May 16—MFBNJ (10:00 a.m.) May 16—NJNI Board Meeting (5:00 p.m.) May 30—Community Meeting (4:00 p.m.) May 31—Disaster Training 9:00 a.m. June 6—FSCIA Extravaganza (at the gardens) June 6-7—Winthrop Rockefeller Board Meeting June 8—West End Annual Rummage Sale (MicroSociety) September 14—NJNI 5K October 1—NJNI National Night Out & Community Fair

If you have community events you would like to place on the calendar, please call or email eagnew@jonesboro.org or 870-336-7210

C ommunity C alendar

Caption describing picture or graphic.

City of Jonesboro North Jonesboro Neighborhood Initiative P.O. Box 1845 519 W. Washington Ave. Jonesboro, AR 72401-1845

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

WILLIAM CASH-Entrepreneur, Vice Chairman

CHARLES COLEMAN-Retired, ASU

JEANETTE DOTSON-East AR Area Agency on Aging

DAISY FREEMAN-Retired, St. Bernard's, Secretary

JANICE GRIFFIN –Craighead County DHS

AMY HUTSON-Frito Lay

BLAKE JOHNSON-Liberty Bank

JANE MCDANIEL–Retired, St. Bernard's

M.G. MEYERING-Habitat for Humanity

JOHN MIXON–STUCK & ASSOCIATES

BEN OWENS, Retired-St. Bernard's, Chairman

Melody Robinson, Jonesboro Human Development Center

Emma Agnew, Editor and NJNI Coordinator

870-336-7210

eagnew@jonesboro.org