A Word From Our Communit y Center Coordinator
Building Community S
t. Philip’s School and Community Center continues to be a
beacon of light to the surrounding community. Part of our mission is to provide compatible community services to the families we serve and we are able to provide those services through over sixty collaborative partnerships. One of my focuses this past year has been to strengthen our partnerships with other agencies in South Dallas in an effort to reduce duplication of services and to streamline our current programing to families. We’ve successfully established several new dynamic community partnerships with our Neighborhood Community Prosecutor’s Office, WINS, the Zip Code Connection and ACT! Through collaborative efforts with the Prosecutor’s Office, we have been able to develop a Neighborhood Strategy and plan for ongoing community clean ups, beautification projects, and more. To date, we have hosted two community clean-ups and one beautification project, with others scheduled through next spring. WINS (Working in Neighborhoods Strategically) is a group of
properties in our immediate neighborhood shut down until property owners make much needed repairs.
committed residents, business leaders, and community partners
Bringing these wonderful organizations together, allows St. Philip’s
coming together to ensure South Dallas/Fair Park is a place where
School and Community Center to have a greater impact on the
families and businesses thrive. This year, St. Philip’s hosted WINS’
community we serve. Future objectives include conducting a
Partner Signing Day where several organizations made a public
survey to get more concrete data on the surrounding community
pledge to commit their partnership with WINS and advocacy
to identify the need for new or restructured programming.
for South Dallas. Additionally, through our partnership with The Zip Code Connection, we worked closely with community
Stay tuned, because Great Things Lie Ahead for the South Dallas
activist, George Battle, and other community leaders to host our
community St. Philip’s calls home!
first annual Prayer Walk, which was a huge success. Finally, we are excited to be working with ACT (Advocates for Community
Sincerely,
Transformation), a ministry that empowers inner city residents to utilize the justice system to successfully combat crime in their communities. With ACT’s support, we were able to get nuisance
LaSheryl Walker
www.stphilips1600.org
FALL MAGAZINE 2016
11
