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<p><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(43, 87, 154); background-color: rgb(230, 230, 230);">
</span><span style="font-size: 1pt; color: black;"> <img alt="City of Durham Communications Department logo" id="x_imageSelected3" width="329" height="74" style="width: 329px; height: 74px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;" data-outlook-trace="F:1|T:1" src="cid:67802a13-0bf0-4c11-9e46-ab47bd596150"></span></p>
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<p align="right"><span style="font-size: 5pt; color: rgb(0, 70, 126);"><b> </b></span></p>
<p align="right"><span style="color: rgb(0, 70, 126);"><b>News Media Contact </b></span></p>
<p align="right"><span style="color: rgb(0, 70, 126);">CommsMedia@DurhamNC.gov</span><span style="font-size: 5pt; color: rgb(0, 70, 126);"> </span></p>
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<p align="center" style="margin-right: 25.4pt;"><span style="font-size: 50pt; color: rgb(0, 70, 127);">News Release</span><span style="color: black;"><br>
</span><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(239, 61, 66);">For Immediate Release: December 5, 2023</span><span style="color: rgb(211, 55, 42);"> </span></p>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; color: black;"><b>Durham Awards $22,500 in Grants for Community Engagement Projects </b></span></p>
<p align="center"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 8pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">DURHAM, N.C. – The Community Engagement Division of Neighborhood Improvement Services (NIS) has awarded $22,500 in grants for local groups
to lead community engagement projects. </span></p>
<hr align="left" size="2" style="width: 94%;">
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><b>What You Need to Know </b></span></p>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in; list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">The City of Durham awarded $22,500 in grants for local groups to lead community engagement projects. </span></li><li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">40+ applications, the largest amount to date, were submitted to the
<a href="http://durhamcommunityengagement.org/minigrants" id="OWA3eb3c765-c460-733c-2e9a-f2c7170cd709" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable">
Community Engagement Mini-Grants</a> program, formerly known as Neighborhood Matching Grants, to request funding to address issues related to mental health, food insecurity, community wealth building, and much more. </span></li></ul>
<hr align="left" size="2" style="width: 100%;">
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Seven community groups were selected as grant recipients for the fall program cycle, with five groups receiving $2,500 in grant money for being first-time applicants
and two receiving $5,000 for being past recipients with successful projects. Applicants were selected based on need, planning, community participation and support, community benefit, and budget needed to complete the project. Additional consideration was given
to groups where the applicants were either members of the communities they proposed to work with, were one of the department’s focus communities, or had previously participated in community conversations hosted by the department. These projects aimed at addressing
issues related to mental health, food insecurity, community wealth building, and much more. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">Kevin Jones, NIS Community Engagement Manager, said the grant program encourages residents to initiate projects that directly address the needs and concerns within
their communities. “By providing financial support, these grants foster a sense of ownership and responsibility among community members, encouraging them to actively participate in creating positive change,” said Jones. A prior year’s project included an
end-of-school summer jam, which brought together more than 50 youth and their families and featured organizations like the National Audubon Society, which helped attendees learn how to build birdhouses. That project also involved Wells Fargo, which shared
banking and financial information with students and families. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">The local groups and organizations awarded for the fall 2023 grant cycle are: </span></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>All Neurotypes:</b> awarded $2,500 to organize a disability-justice-centered community event to share support and resources for parents and caregivers of neurodivergent
children. </span></li><li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>Bordando Comunidad, in partnership with El Centro Hispano:
</b>awarded $2,500 to organize a group of women to learn traditional Mexican embroidery and economic development training. </span></li><li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>Costurando Sueños (Sewing Dreams):
</b>awarded $5,000 to organize sewing and tailoring classes for Latinas to share knowledge, increase their household incomes, and improve their quality of life. </span></li><li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>Jóvenes Líderes en Acción, in partnership with El Centro Hispano:</b> awarded $2,500 to host small cultural events for Latinx youth. </span></li><li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>Pupusas for Education (P4E):</b> awarded $2,500 to organize mental health retreats and art kits for BIPOC youth to reduce the stigma of mental health care and
promote overall wellness, self-expression, and a sense of community. </span></li><li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>Red Maple Park Community, in partnership with Wall Street Juniors:</b> awarded $5,000 to host a community wealth-building series to promote positive financial
behaviors and social responsibility in the surrounding Red Maple Park area. </span></li><li style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b>Refugee Community Partnership:</b> awarded $2,500 to organize Afghan Women’s Group sessions for newly resettled Afghan women, including support from community
interpreters (in Dari, Pashto, and Urdu) and a community coordinator. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span></li></ul>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">All of these community engagement projects are set to launch in late fall with the goal of being completed by the end of winter 2024. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">To follow the progress of these projects, visit
<a href="http://DurhamCommunityEngagement.org/minigrants" id="OWA9edbaca2-7ce2-cc6f-5248-2027809afbd9" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">
DurhamCommunityEngagement.org/minigrants</a>, follow the Community Engagement Division on
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/DurhamCommunityEngagement" id="OWAc81e86f3-e7c1-557e-1560-9a3d757a8bf8" class="OWAAutoLink" data-auth="NotApplicable" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;">
Facebook</a>, or contact Kevin Jones, NIS Community Engagement Manager, at kevin.jones@durhamnc.gov or 919-560-1647 ext. 34266. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;"><b>About the Neighborhood Improvement Services Department </b></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: black;">The Neighborhood Improvement Services Department works to preserve and improve quality of life conditions for Durham residents, and to encourage active participation
in neighborhood redevelopment and public policy and decision-making dialogue. </span></p>
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