On Monday, Wilmington City Council Member Darius Brown announced a $193,000 fundraising effort to support community development in the city’s 3rd district - home to some of Wilmington’s highest need areas.
The Neighborhood Fund will support six initiatives in the city's Eastside and Northeast neighborhoods, including The Kingswood Community Center, Brown Boys & Girls Club and Tweet My Jobs. The goals of each initiative range from job training to updating rooms and equipment that haven’t seen renovations in decades.
Kingswood Community Center is the most ambitious of the efforts with individual fundraising goal of $60,000.
"When you talk about a gymnasium that was built in the 70s, and has not had any updates since then, clearly there has been neglect there. When you talk about a shuttered youth center that could be reopened for the Riverside neighborhood. We want to make sure that we create those opportunities for our young people," said Councilman Brown. He added that by helping make these projects a reality, at-risk young people in the area will feel more valued and engaged.
There’s also $50,000 goal for Wilmington Tweet My Jobs, which launched last January.
The Delaware Community Foundation will house the Neighborhood Fund. DCF CEO Fred Sears says when it comes to fundraising, there’s strength in numbers.
"People talk about all these projects. Boys and Girls Club has been out there looking for money for their project, and certainly Kingswood has, and everyone has. But one on one, they’re struggling. When you come in with, “we’re going to have this plan, and the Councilman has announced this plan, and the fund’s going to be at the DCF, well that raises the visibility and awareness to everybody.”
Council Member Brown says there is no official deadline for raising the nearly $200,000, but that he hopes to see the money raised by the end of the year.
All gifts are tax-deductible for donors.
