Updates from the DC LISC Team

Happy fall! For many, this season means back to school, a new fiscal year, and weather we can savor. We are forging ahead with realizing our lending goals to support our partners in preserving and creating affordable housing, community facilities, and other neighborhood amenities, providing grants to nonprofits for capacity building, and supporting our partners with technical assistance. Below, you’ll see some of the activities that we’ve been engaged in recently, as well as profiles on Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship and CPDC’s 1339 Fort Stevens renovation project. Be sure to check out our website and follow us on T witter for frequent updates!

LISC on the Move

Over the summer, the DC LISC team was all over DC supporting our partners and investments, while also having a bit of fun! We got to celebrate with the 22 Atlantic Cooperative as they signed the closing documents to renovate their home in Bellevue. LISC helped them buy the building, and we’re excited to see the property restored for the stalwart residents. We joined the ribbon cutting for Bright Beginnings' new Ward 8 development center which LISC funded in the early stages. This center will serve an additional 100 children and their families, providing comprehensive educational, therapeutic, and social services to families experiencing homelessness. We visited the ONE DC Black Workers' Center and learned about their advocacy and programming in Anacostia.

The LISC DC team (and a few friends) had a great time serving up fresh fruits and veggies at Martha's Table's Joyful Food Markets, eradicating food deserts one eggplant at a time. We then attended a dinner in celebration of Literacy Lab's Leading Men. We then rounded out the summer by rooting for the Washington Nationals with our colleagues from rural, policy, and research at LISC. Finally, we remembered and reflected as Open Arms Housing posthumously honored Oramenta Newsome for her fight against homelessness.

Becoming a Leader One Fellow at a Time

The Literacy Lab’s Leading Men Fellowship equips cohorts of young men to support Pre-Kindergarten classrooms as early literacy tutors. Leading Men serve as role models and change agents in both their schools and communities.

LISC had the opportunity to meet with four young men in the Leading Men family – Justin, Rico, Javon, and Jean Carlos – to talk about their experiences with the program, and how Literacy Lab has made a difference in their lives.

Preserving Affordable Housing in Brightwood

Thanks to the Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), 59 families in Brightwood did not face displacement when their landlord decided to sell the apartment building where they live. In May of 2015, CPDC, a premier real estate developer, purchased Fort Stevens Place Apartments, a multi-family building in the rapidly gentrifying Brightwood Park neighborhood where LISC has invested $46M in nearly 600 units of affordable housing.

Upcoming Events

October 18: Consumer Health Foundation's 20th Anniversary Celebration, This Fire Burnin': Community Word on Racial Equity - 1-5p
October 18: CNHED's Annual A Community of Leaders Reception - 6-8:30p
October 20: East of the River Book Festival, 11a-4p
October 26: "A Right to the City" Symposium, 10a-4p
November 7: 23rd Annual Friends of Manna Reception - 6p