Impact Newsletter: Women of the Westside (March 2023)

Logo

 

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum & Her Work to Address Inequity

This Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting visionary leaders in our Westside community both past and present – including Westside Future Fund Board Chair and life-long educator Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum.

When she first arrived in Atlanta in 2002, Tatum stepped into a critical role for the success of the City. She was named President of Spelman College – a leading educational institution for Black women not only here in Atlanta but around the world.

Read More

Helen Smith Price Recalls Life on the Westside

Read More

Around Town

Home on the Westside

 

Buying Blight and Beautifying the Westside

During the first half of the 20th century, the historic Westside was a bustling middle-class Black community with manicured neighborhoods – but as socioeconomic inequities set in, so did neglect.

Over the years, many properties on the Westside became vacant, abandoned and blighted, leaving rotting shells of former homes engulfed in overgrown vegetation. The unsightly nature of the situation pushed out families, and drew in crime.

Lee Harrop, vice president of Real Estate Development at Westside Future Fund (WFF), says it’s a cycle that without intervention will only get worse, which is why the organization is working to purchase as much of the blighted property as possible to help beautify and sustain the community.

Read More

A Big Year on the Horizon

Westside Future Fund’s (WFF) Home on the Westside program is set to complete 45 affordable homes in the community by the end of 2023.

The plans include 33 rental units across five multi-family properties and 12 single family homes. All of the properties are located within the English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods, including several single family homes on the blocks surrounding Kathryn Johnston Memorial Park.

Read More

In the News

Volunteer Spotlight

Read More

Volunteer Opportunities

Come and join our Volunteers Corps this April as we celebrate National Volunteer Month through service in our Westside community. Sign up today to help transform the Westside into a community that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would be proud to call home!

Fun and Games with Seniors – April 12 from 10am to 12pm

Come out for a morning of fun and games at the New Horizon Senior Center. Volunteers are needed to serve snacks and lead games with the seniors. We will play games like BINGO, The Price is Right and more. Sign up here.

Impact Newsletter: Westside History is Black History that Made American History (February 2023)

Logo

Westside History is Black History that Made American History

During #BlackHistoryMonth, we are highlighting some of the places, people and events that form the rich history of our neighborhoods — English Avenue, Vine City, Ashview Heights and Atlanta University Center (AUC). Take a moment to dive into the rich history of our Westside communities.

Around Town

Home on the Westside

Finding Home on the Westside - Steve Wilson’s Story

 

In December of 2022, Steven Wilson became one of our newest Home on the Westside homeowners when he moved into 850 Proctor Street in the English Avenue neighborhood near Kathyrn Johnson Memorial Park. For Wilson, buying a home in the community where he was raised is special.

“The process for Home on the Westside was surprisingly simple, and it made me feel really at ease. I ended up with a wonderful home in a wonderful neighborhood back where I grew up…and I’m feeling like I’m back home again,” said Wilson.

He joins three Proctor Street Home on the Westside homeowners with two more closing on their new homes in March. Check out his home buying journey.

In the News

Donor’s Corner

Volunteer Spotlight

Q: How did you first hear about the Westside Future Fund?
A: I met John Ahmann while he was jogging on the Beltline and I was giving out hand sanitizer via my company Pureneed at the beginning of COVID. He asked me how much my sanitizer was and I told him it was free. Then he asked me “how much will 50 bottles be, I would like to give them to the homeless.” I was shocked and excited at the same time. I only had 48 bottles and bottled the last two while he was standing there. That’s when I found out all about Westside Future Fund, and the rest was history. Ever since then I have made it my business to pay it forward by volunteering.

Q: What is your favorite part of serving with the WFF Volunteer Corp?
A: My favorite part of serving with the WFF Volunteer Corps is being a part of something bigger than myself. WFF brings different people together to work as a team. I enjoy getting out of the house, meeting my neighbors, setting goals, and accomplishing them.

Q: What inspires you about this service opportunity?
A: It’s the feeling you get from helping others that keeps me coming back. Knowing I have the power to change lives and service the community means a lot to me. Being a part of the rebuilding and development of the historic Westside inspires me.

Q: What do you want others to know about the Westside Future Fund and why it’s so important?
A: WFF has put smiles on many faces. They are like angels sent from heaven, and they need everyone’s help rebuilding underdeveloped communities like the Westside of Atlanta. Our community can count WFF, they provide us with hope. It’s important that communities have leadership like this organization to move toward a brighter future.

Impact Newsletter: New Year, Same Mission (January 2023)

Logo

Impact Newsletter
JANUARY 2023 ISSUE

Westside Future Fund is a nonprofit formed by Atlanta’s public, private and philanthropic partners who believe in the future of Atlanta’s Westside and are committed to helping Historic Westside neighborhoods revitalize and develop into a community Dr. King would be proud to call home.

A Day of Service Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Dr. King

 

More than 900 volunteers gathered to celebrate the legacy and impact of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the community. The MLK Day of Service brought together those who are committed to the mission of Westside Future Fund (WFF) – to revitalize the historic Westside and build a community that Dr. King would be proud to call home.

Our volunteer corps facilitated eight service projects throughout the historic Westside neighborhoods served by WFF including schools, museums, and community resource centers. Volunteers completed tasks like organizing, painting, cleaning, planting and repairing. Their efforts helped beautify and breathe life into each space while also building community with each other.

Read More

Around Town

Home on the Westside

In the News

Volunteer Spotlight

Q: How did you first hear about the Westside Future Fund?
A: I was talking with my mother about wanting to support schools in Atlanta, but I didn’t know what to do. Later that same day, my mother’s friend mentioned that Westside Future Fund may be a good place to get involved. I went to the website and found what I was looking for – an organization that could help children’s education in my hometown.

Q: What is your favorite part of serving with the WFF Volunteer Corp?
A: Being able to serve my community is my favorite part of working with the WFF Volunteer Corp. WFF is so well organized and impactful here in Atlanta. Helping build my community is such a rewarding experience and observing the impact my efforts have made make it all the better.

Q: What inspires you about this service opportunity?
A: Reading has always been a passion of mine, and that gave me the idea to collect books and donate them to WFF. I was happy to foster a child’s love for reading. I collected books ranging from picture books to chapter books and novels, too.

Q: What do you want others to know about the Westside Future Fund?
A: WFF is invigorating a large part of our Atlanta metro community. So many Atlantans are proud to be associated with Dr. King, and WFF helps make Atlanta a city he would be proud of.

Impact Newsletter: Giving the Gift of Home (December 2022)

Logo

Impact Newsletter
DECEMBER 2022 ISSUE

Westside Future Fund is a nonprofit formed by Atlanta’s public, private and philanthropic partners who believe in the future of Atlanta’s Westside and are committed to helping Historic Westside neighborhoods revitalize and develop into a community Dr. King would be proud to call home.

A New Place to Call Home

There’s no gift quite like the gift of home!

We congratulate Home on the Westside’s latest homeowners, Steven, Dorojen, DiAuna, and Mila – four families with connections to the neighborhood moving into quality, affordable single-family homes developed by WFF in historic English Avenue. They are all excited to close on homes as part of their holiday celebrations!

Focus on the Future

 

We are grateful for the success we’ve had this year, and we’re hopeful about new opportunities in 2023. When you give to Westside Future Fund this holiday season, you’re helping us support community retention and empowering legacy residents with access to quality, affordable housing to rent, buy or retain.

Donor opportunities for 2023:

220 Sunset Avenue: Once home to Reverend Maynard Jackson, Sr., and his family, this home was once part of a thriving middle class Black neighborhood, but years of neglect have left it in desperate need of repair. To ensure that the bountiful history of the property is preserved, Westside Future Fund is moving forward with extensive restoration work and will have the property added to the National Register of Historic Places. Once completed, the reimagined property will serve as affordable housing for researchers and graduate students who are affiliated with the Atlanta University Center.It will stand as a landmark for years to come.

Yellow Store: The Yellow Store at 500 James P. Brawley Drive NW stands as a reminder of the corridor’s commercial past, and it will be restored by Westside Future Fund to serve the neighborhood for generations to come. Your gift will help us offer entrepreneurs the chance to apply their vision to a unique historical building at a vital intersection within the English Avenue community.

By supporting Home on the Westside, you are:

  • Removing blight: WFF targets the purchase of vacant, overgrown lots or abandoned homes for redevelopment. We need financial support to help clear the lots, keep them maintained, and properly secure vacant homes until they can be redeveloped.
  • Helping disrupt the displacement of legacy homeowners due to rising property taxes via the Anti-Displacement Tax Fund.

Your Giving Matters

We’re breaking ground next year in English Avenue on three new multifamily properties that will add 83 rental units for our Home on the Westside program.

We’re also hosting five ribbon cuttings in 2023 on five renovated multifamily properties in English Avenue, adding 33 rental units to Home on the Westside.

We’ll invite you to join our future celebrations, so look for details in our newsletter and social media channels!

Residents Round-Up

As part of Home on the Westside this year, Westside Future Fund placed several families in affordable rental single-family homes in historic English Avenue.

Ladonna Jackson has been in her home for two years, and having a place to call her own feels even more special during the holiday season.

Monnica Taylor joins Ladonna Jackson in English Avenue and says,

Volunteer Spotlight

Read More

Get Involved

 

MLK Day Volunteer Event – January 23, 2022

Let’s kick off 2023 with a big turnout for our first volunteer event of the new year! Join us for our annual Martin L. King Holiday Day of Service as we continue to make the Westside a community Dr. King would be proud to call home. Register today.

Impact Newsletter: Thankful for Our Community (November 2022)

Logo

Impact Newsletter
NOVEMBER 2022 ISSUE

Westside Future Fund is a nonprofit formed by Atlanta’s public, private and philanthropic partners who believe in the future of Atlanta’s Westside and are committed to helping Historic Westside neighborhoods revitalize and develop into a community Dr. King would be proud to call home.

Saving Sunset on the Westside

The Westside has a rich legacy of historic homes and heartfelt stories on every block, and 220 Sunset Avenue in Vine City is a prime example. Once home to Reverend Maynard Jackson, Sr., and his family, this home was once part of a thriving middle class Black neighborhood, but years of neglect have left it in desperate need of repair.

Thanks to Westside Future Fund, the five-unit building, purchased from The King Center in January 2020, will be revitalized in the coming months, and it will be added to the National Register of Historic Places. Learn more about the famous family who once called this place home.

Read More

Around Town

Home on the Westside

Finding Home on the Westside

 

Finding Home on the Westside

For N’Dieye Danavall, the Westside had always felt like home, but finding a house in the community that fit her budget wasn’t easy.

When she heard about the Westside Future Fund Home on the Westside opportunity, it seemed too good to be true. Because N’Dieye has lived, worked and attended school in the Westside community, she qualified to apply for one of several homes available through the program. After months of careful planning and preparation with the financial team, she was set to purchase her new home.

The community’s rich history is personal to N’Dieye, and that makes her move even more special. Watch as N’Dieye talks about why she chose to buy her home on the Westside.

Read More

In the News

Volunteer Spotlight

Q: How did you first hear about the Westside Future Fund?
A: I was searching for volunteer opportunities online when I found the Westside Future Fund. Having grown up here, it seemed like a natural fit.

Q: What is your favorite part of serving with the WFF Volunteer Corp?
A: Definitely being able to volunteer and serve in the neighborhood I grew up in. It’s personal to be able to support the community that’s always supported me.

Q: What inspires you about this service opportunity?
A: The number one inspiration for me is working with volunteers who have the same calling as I do. The people I work with at these volunteer events are what inspire me to come out every time.

Q: What do you want others to know about the Westside Future Fund and why it’s so important?
A: All of the work that the Westside Future Fund is doing is so important, but for me the most important is their efforts to keep the Westside neighborhood affordable to live in with programs like Home on the Westside.

Donor’s Corner

Your support makes our mission possible. Thanks in advance for giving so generously to help our neighbors have a safe place to pursue opportunities and thrive!

Give Today

Get Involved

 

Thanksgiving Meal Delivery (11/22 & 11/23)

Register to help us deliver 1,000+ Thanksgiving meals to families in the historic Westside community. Special thanks to Hudson Grille for preparing these delicious, traditional foods! . Grab your family, friends and coworkers and meet us at 2:30 pm at 351 Moreland Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30307. Meal delivery will last until 6 pm.