MCCD has focused most of its efforts in its first year of existence on fostering a process of indigenous community development in the neighborhood to the immediate east and southeast of the main Macon campus. Since the issuance of the Center’s first semi-annual report, efforts have continued in the three broad areas around which a consensus was built last year: capacity building, educational needs, and housing redevelopment.

The main vehicle for building neighborhood capacity has been the Willing Workers Association of Central South. Working with a strong core of active members, WWACS has continued to register some impressive success during the first six months of 1999. These include the continuation of community-wide meetings on a regular basis, sound control over its fiscal resources, the staging of two neighborhood clean-ups, a celebration honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a visioning retreat for the Executive Board of WWACS, and site-based training for two WWACS officers in the nuts and bolts of community development.

MCCD, reflecting Mercer’s primary purpose as an institution of higher learning, has continued to address the educational needs of the surrounding community. The establishment of the Servant Leader Scholarship Program and the donation of computers to local partner institutions have underscored our commitment, as have the University’s highly successful tutoring programs in the area’s elementary schools and local churches.

Finally, the physical revitalization of the neighborhood has continued. Periodic clean-ups have improved the neighborhood’s appearance, through a coordination of the efforts of WWACS, Mercer’s FYX program, MCCD, and our community and local government partners. Long range efforts to revitalize the neighborhood include the creation of a property database, identifying obstacles to fair housing, and preliminary steps toward the creation of a Community Development Corporation.

During the next reporting period, WWACS, with the support of its community and University partners, will enhance neighborhood capacity through the following activities: an accelerated training program for WWACS members; support for WWACS events; a coordinated approach to neighborhood assets mapping; and the launching of an oral history project. In the field of education, MCCD will support tutoring at local elementary schools and churches and take a leading role in the CIS program with the Board of Education. In the field of neighborhood revitalization, MCCD will continue to support neighborhood clean-ups, gather data on legal status of neighborhood properties, identify barriers to fair housing, and move toward the establishment of a Community Development Corporation for Central South.

I.  INTRODUCTION

The Mercer Center for Community Development, established by President Kirby Godsey in July 1998, has completed its first year of operation. The Center’s mission is to facilitate educational, social, and economic improvements in the Macon area in partnership with local agencies, neighborhoods, and institutions and through coordination of University resources. The Center also serves as a clearinghouse and information source regarding efforts that various units of Mercer University are making in the revitalization of our surrounding neighborhood. In so doing, the Center aims to facilitate the involvement of our students in service-learning opportunities.

Many of the efforts highlighted in this report, such as the FYX tutoring program at Burke Elementary School, have been on-going for a number of years. Their inclusion here reflects the President’s desire to have all of Mercer’s partnership activities in Central South summarized in one report.

The Center is housed at 1367 Linden Avenue, adjacent to the main Macon campus. Current staff are Dr. Peter C. Brown, Center Director; Randall Harshbarger, J.D., Program Manager; and Ms. Ina Vaughns, Community Development Specialist and Administrative Assistant. The phone number for the Center is 912-301-5370. The fax number is 912-301-5373.

MCCD has elected to focus first on an area east and southeast of Mercer’s main campus. This area, historically known as Tindall Heights and now as Central South, has long been one of Macon’s most challenged neighborhoods. At the same time, the neighborhood has significant resources, history, and an important location on the edge of downtown Macon.

In addition to its grassroots work in Central South, MCCD also participates in events of wider community significance, including meetings with school, city, and county officials. As part of its informational role, MCCD is compiling a library of community development resources and seeks to inform the Mercer community about significant issues in community development.

II.   ACTIVITIES OF JANUARY-JUNE 1999

A.   Capacity Building

Central South neighborhood already boasts a number of strong community institutions, including the Second Street Boys and Girls Club, the residents associations of Tindall Heights and Oglethorpe Homes, and nineteen churches. With the support of MCCD, neighbors formed the Willing Workers Association of Central South (WWACS) one year ago as an organization which seeks to represent all residents of the neighborhood.

During this reporting period, WWACS has continued its program of monthly general meetings, executive committee meetings on a more frequent basis, and working group meetings to discuss specific programs (e.g. neighborhood clean-ups, Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration). An ongoing challenge for WWACS has been to include neighborhood residents beyond a hard core of dedicated workers. This is a process which will involve much time and planning. Many neighborhood residents do not feel that they have a real stake in neighborhood improvement, as most of them are renters, not homeowners. Some residents may be skeptical of any organization that speaks of the neighborhood’s renewal, due to what they may perceive as a history of broken promises in this community. WWACS has discussed this issue frankly and openly, which increases the chance that solutions promoting wider community participation will be found.

                    1.    Festivals

For its first major event of the New Year, WWACS sponsored a dinner celebration honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The dinner was held in the premises permanently loaned to WWACS by a neighborhood resident. MCCD and the members of WWACS shared the expenses for the dinner. Mr. Sam Oni, Mercer University’s first black student and now a Community Builder for the Atlanta HUD office, was the guest speaker. The event was a huge success, with over fifty neighborhood residents, Mercerians, and guests participating. To celebrate the first anniversary of its founding and to promote its activities to a wider public, WWACS will hold a Fall festival in late September. It is anticipated that this year’s event will resemble last year’s, which included food, music, and job, education, and health information.

                    2.   Visioning Retreat

On January 23, MCCD and WWACS cooperated on a visioning retreat for the neighborhood association which was held in the conference center of the Georgia Forestry Commission in Macon. Mr. Dave Wallace of the Community Resource Center served as facilitator for the event. This was the first time that the Executive Board of WWACS had had the chance to discuss its vision, mission, and long-term strategy away from the pressure of day-to-day concerns. Eleven WWACS members and three MCCD staff participated. The products of the retreat were edited by Mr. Wallace and made available to the leadership of WWACS for further planning and follow-up.

                    3.    Naming of Community Advisory Council (CAC) for MCCD

As part of the process of re-applying for a HUD Community Outreach Partnership Center grant, MCCD formally invited a number of individuals representing its community and governmental partners to constitute a Community Advisory Council. The general responsibilities of the CAC include approval and revision of the MCCD strategic plan and goals and assessment of project progress toward identified goals and objectives. In addition, the CAC will review and approve successful matching grant proposals from neighborhood organizations, including WWACS.

                     4.    Training and Site Visits.

In March, Ms. Daisy Rawls, President of WWACS, and Ms. Betty Haynes, Coordinator of the Team Leaders of WWACS, traveled to Atlanta at the invitation of Mr. Sam Oni for a ceremony honoring the thirtieth anniversary of HUD. This occasion gave the WWACS officers a chance to meet with many of those involved in formulating urban policy and in revitalizing neighborhoods, especially in Atlanta.

On May 14-15, Ms. Ina Vaughns of MCCD and Ms. Betty Haynes of WWACS attended the Nuts and Bolts Workshop of the Community Development Institute sponsored by Atlanta Neighborhood Development Partnership, Inc. (ANDP) in Atlanta. The workshop focused on models of redevelopment for depressed neighborhoods, including the establishment of strong neighborhood associations.

In early June, Ms. Rawls and Ms. Haynes returned to Atlanta for a second workshop entitled "The Nuts and Bolts of Community Economic Development: Principles, Practices, and Strategies." One of the salient points of the latter workshop was the importance of identifying community assets. Both participants were enthusiastic about the need to pursue this type of inventory in Central South. A second major theme of the workshop was "Building Capacity for the Twentieth Century". This focused on problem identification and policy formulation, approval, implementation, and evaluation. Both participants agreed that these are extremely critical skills for leaders of a community organization such as WWACS.

Based on priorities of WWACS, a training program will be implemented in the coming months. Areas of training will include: financial management, computer technology, negotiating skills, grant writing, public relations, credit counseling, and housing counseling. These activities will be ongoing.

                    5.    Media training for WWACS

Ms. Lisa Bell, Coordinator of University Relations for Education and Tift Alumnae at Mercer, held a training session for Ms. Bonnie Cureau, Reporter for WWACS. The expected result of this training is that henceforth WWACS will be able to publicize its events more effectively, both to its membership and to the public at large.

                    6.   Adopt-a-Grandparent

Through the efforts of two Mercer student interns a small program was initiated whereby Mercer students could "adopt" an elderly resident of Central South. Adoption consisted of regular visits to the residents, as well as help with small chores, including transportation to the grocery store or doctor. The effort was a modest success for a new activity: three Mercer students participated. Their services and friendship were appreciated by the residents. A decision on whether or not to continue this activity will be made jointly by MCCD and WWACS.

                    7.   Inventory of Neighborhood Assets

In order to better understand and relate to the strong church presence in Central South, WWACS formed a task force whose mission was to visit neighborhood churches, report on WWACS’ activities, and encourage the churches to join in the effort. Members of the task force were Ms. Daisy Rawls and Ms. Betty Haynes. During the reporting period they visited three churches. The activity was curtailed due to constraints on the members’ time.

There is growing interest among the leaders of WWACS in identifying assets in the neighborhood. MCCD will discuss with WWACS means for accomplishing this important goal. One possible strategy is to mobilize a Mercer intern or student worker to help with the task.

                    8.   Community History Projects

Ms. Bonnie Cureau, Reporter and Historian of WWACS, is working on a brief history of the Central South neighborhood. She will do this through interviews with neighborhood residents, as well as through research in local libraries.

Prof. Sarah Gardner of the History Department will oversee two aspects of the community history project in the next reporting period. The first will concern the history of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Georgia. This will be done through the collaboration of Dr. Gardner’s students with Boys and Girls Clubs members, Central South residents, and members of Mercer service organizations. The second activity will be an oral history project for the Central South neighborhood. Training for both of these activities will take place during the fall semester.

B.  ADDRESSING EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

                    1.   Elementary School Tutoring

During the second semester, approximately 180 students and preceptors from the First-Year Seminar/Experiential (FYX) continued their tutoring at John W. Burke Elementary School on Second Street in Central South. In this work, they were supervised by Ms. Vivian Hatcher, Principal of Burke School, Dr. David Nelson, Director of the FYX program, and Ms. Bobbie Shipley, Program Coordinator for FYX. Although any significant improvement or decline in standardized test scores is the result of a complex mix of factors, the dramatic rise in reading scores at Burke has coincided with an intensification of the Mercer tutoring program there. Indeed, Burke’s reading scores for third graders have soared from sixteenth in Bibb County (out of 31 schools) two years ago, to second last year to first in 1999. Writing about the tutoring program, Ms. Hatcher stated: "The educational and emotional benefits of this close pairing of child to tutor has resulted in enormous gains in student achievement." (See Appendix A.)

To build on this effort, Mercer dedicated approximately 100 students from its First-Year Seminar (FYS) program to a revived tutoring program at the other major Central South elementary school, Ingram-Pye. (Cooperation between the school and Mercer had been suspended for several years until the arrival of Mr. Louis Tompkins as principal last year.) A report from Mr. Tompkins indicates that on the whole the contributions of Mercer students were helpful and appreciated by teachers and pupils at Ingram-Pye.

In addition to the obvious benefits to the pupils from the tutoring program, it provides an unparalleled service-learning opportunity for Mercer students. As part of their work in FYS or FYX courses, students have often cited the tutoring program as a highlight of the course. (See Appendix B for an example provided by an FYS student who tutored at Ingram-Pye.) The tutoring program at Burke Elementary School will continue as before, with the support of Mercer’s FYX program. At this writing, the future of the FYS tutoring program at Ingram-Pye Elementary is under discussion.

                    2.   Tutoring at Neighborhood Churches

The highly successful Baptist Student Union (BSU) tutoring program at Greater New Corinth Baptist Church in Central South was not continued in the spring semester due to the sudden and unexpected departure of the church’s pastor. Undaunted, the BSU searched for another church which was ready to host a similar program for children of the neighborhood needing after school help. The Congregational Baptist Church just around the corner proved to be the ideal choice. With the enthusiastic support of the church’s pastor, Rev. Sandifer, and of members of the congregation, over 30 BSU student volunteers staffed an after-school enrichment program every Tuesday and Wednesday of the semester. Activities included school work, reading of Bible stories, sports, and games. Over sixty children and young people participated in the program. An outstanding feature of this program was the full participation of retired schoolteachers from the congregation in the tutoring program and in the preparation of the daily snack meal which was served at the end of the tutoring and play sessions. This made the program a truly cooperative effort, not merely one in which Mercer students provided all of the resources. The BSU did continue to solicit and receive contributions from area churches and the Middle Georgia Food Bank to support the program. The program was of obvious benefit to the children in the neighborhood and their parents and provided an outstanding service-learning opportunity for our students. BSU plans to continue its highly successful after-school program at Congregational Baptist Church in the coming semester.

                    3.   Tutoring at Oglethorpe Homes

MCCD attempted to set up an after-school tutoring program at Oglethorpe Homes in response to a request from the Macon Housing Authority and its local resident manager. The program was put together somewhat hastily in the first two months of the year. By the time a canvas of the neighborhood had been completed and a roster of pupils compiled, many potential Mercer tutors had already committed themselves to other activities. Thus, the tutoring program as such never materialized. A few volunteers helped youngsters with their homework and provided snacks donated by the Middle Georgia Food Bank. MCCD has decided not to resume management of the program at Oglethorpe Homes, but will review with interest a proposal from the resident manager to support a program which the residents and management may start on their own.

                    4.   Servant Leadership Scholars at Mercer

The Servant Leadership Scholarship program was approved and established during the 1999 fall semester, thanks in large part to the strong support of Ms. Allison Nooks of the Admissions Office and of Mr. Sam Hart, Assistant Dean of Students. Recruitment of potential scholarship recipients was conducted through the first two months of the year. The guidance counselors from the local high schools proposed candidates for this award.

A total of four students were selected for full-tuition scholarships beginning in academic year 1999-2000. One of these was nominated by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Georgia. Although preference was given to candidates from Central South, only one Scholar is from that neighborhood. It is anticipated that with greater lead time, more interest in the program will be generated in Central South. Nevertheless, all of the Scholars selected are deserving students from Macon’s distressed neighborhoods. The Servant Leadership Scholarship program was nominated by the Georgia HUD office for HUD Best Practices recognition.

                    5.   Donation of Computers

The Mercer University School of Law made available twenty computers for donation to local organizations. These computers were rehabilitated by the Mercer Technology Support Office. The transfer of the computers took place in a ceremony at the Law School on April 6. Dean Larry Dessem presided over the ceremony. Those organizations receiving the computers included: the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Georgia; the Willing Workers Association of Central South; the Booker T. Washington Community Center; the Inter-Neighborhood Residents Association, an umbrella organization for the residents associations of Macon’s public housing neighborhoods; and Project Read, an adult literacy project of the Bibb County Board of Education. Most of the organizations who received the computers already have staff who are computer literate and able to train other staff or those whom they serve. MCCD provided basic computer training to the officers of WWACS.

                    6.   Central South Summer Math-Science Camp

During this reporting period, Prof. Linda Hensel-Burke (Biology) and Prof. Hope McIlwain (Mathematics) submitted a proposal to the Educational Foundation of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to establish a summer math-science camp for girls from the Central South neighborhood. The proposal was accepted and funded in the amount of $10,000. The grant provides for a one-year planning period before the camp is held in the summer of 2000. The two instructors are in the midst of the planning process. They have also submitted grant applications to the National Science Foundation and the Honda Foundation in further support of this project.

                    7.   Communities in Schools (CIS)

Communities in Schools will offer two pilot after-school programs at Tinsley and Union Elementary Schools this year in partnership with the YMCA. CIS has been endorsed by the Board of Education to offer after-school programs in public school facilities throughout Bibb County. Dr. Peter Brown and Ms. Sallie Devero, a Mercer alumna and instructor in early childhood education at Macon Tech, are co-chairs of the Program Development Committee of CIS. Plans are to expand the CIS program to Ingram-Pye Elementary School in 2000-2001.

C.  HOUSING REDEVELOPMENT

                    1.   Neighborhood Clean-ups

A high priority of the residents of Central South continues to be the physical beautification and cleaning of the neighborhood. This is so not only for aesthetic reasons, but also because of the perception that abandoned houses and overgrown lots are a magnet for criminal and other illicit activities. To this end, the Willing Workers Association took the lead in planning two major clean-ups during the early part of this year. The first took place on February 6 and was supported by the Mercer Student Government Association. The SGA recruited nearly forty student volunteer workers and provided lunch for the event. The second clean-up took place on February 27 and included the participation of nearly two hundred Mercer FYX students, their preceptors, and instructors, as well as WWACS Team Leaders and officers. Mercer’s participation in the latter clean-up was organized by Dr. David Nelson, Director of the FYX, and Ms. Bobbie Shipley, Program Coordinator for FYX. Both clean-ups resulted in the removal of tons of trash and debris and the clearing of many overgrown vacant lots in the neighborhood.

The City of Macon Public Works Department, the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department, and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department made significant material and human contributions to the clean-ups.

WWACS, the Mercer FYX Program, and MCCD are jointly planning a neighborhood clean-up for November 6. The areas to be cleaned will be designated by the WWACS Executive Committee. MCCD and WWACS are studying ways to increase neighborhood participation in future events of this nature. This year we will make an effort to involve community partners who have not been invited to participate in previous clean-ups. These include the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Georgia, neighborhood churches, the Intown Neighborhood Association, and Keep Macon Beautiful Commission. Of course, our regular partners will also be asked to participate.

These include: the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Macon Public Works Department and Code Enforcement Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Macon Housing Authority.

                    2.   Clean-up of Mercer Woods

Over the past twenty years the area behind the Mercer Medical School and soccer field had been allowed to grow into a dense thicket in an attempt to shield the University from the rest of the neighborhood. From the beginning of our discussions with neighborhood residents, this emerged as a point of controversy. If the neighbors were now expected to clean up their yards and streets, why not Mercer? During the past reporting period, instructions to clean this area were issued. The Grounds Superintendent for Mercer’s Physical Plant Department, Mr. Danny G. Morgan Sr., supervised the cleaning of this jungle area in just a few days, to the great satisfaction of neighborhood residents. There is a perception that the whole neighborhood is safer, given that there is one less place for malefactors to hide.

                    3.   Legal Properties Research Database

Under the supervision of Ms. Joan Harris, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Local Government at the Mercer University School of Law, a class of law students conducted research on properties in Central South to determine their tax and legal status. Approximately 260 properties were studied in the spring semester. Prof. Harris would like to continue the properties inventory during the fall semester if she is able to identify at least two student interns to help with the task. Completion of the inventory for the pocket neighborhood delineated by Telfair Street, Oglethorpe Street, and the railroad tracks is within reach. This will be the pilot neighborhood for the revitalization of Central South.

                    4.   Delinquent Properties Task Force

In cooperation with WWACS and the City of Macon Code Enforcement Division, two Mercer student interns, working under the supervision of Dr. Brian Rood, Director of Mercer’s Environmental Studies Program, worked to identify owners of abandoned and vacant properties in Central South. The interns drafted a letter which is being reviewed by WWACS before being sent to the delinquent property owners, informing them of the existence of the neighborhood association and inviting them to clean up their property. This effort will be ongoing. A WWACS member is working closely with the MCCD and the Code Enforcement Division.

                    5.   Meeting to Discuss Establishment of Community Development Corporation

On April 19, representatives of Mercer University, the City of Macon, and community partners gathered to discuss the establishment of a Community Development Corporation to focus on the Central South neighborhood. Those in attendance included: Dr. Kirby Godsey, President of Mercer University; Mr. John Hiscox, Executive Director of the Macon Housing Authority; Mr. Chester Wheeler, Acting Administrative Officer for the City of Macon; Ms. Daisy Rawls, President of WWACS; Mr. Damon King, Executive Director of the Medical Center of Central Georgia; Dr. Peter Brown, Director of MCCD; Mr. Jay Green, Regional Community Development Director for Wachovia Bank; Mr. Bruce Gerwig, Special Projects Director, Macon Housing Authority; Mr. Martin Fretty, Acting Director, City of Macon Economic and Community Development Department; Mr. John McDonald, Director, Wachovia Bank, Macon, Georgia; Mr. Matt Thompson, University Relations, MCCD; Ms. Betty Haynes, Team Leader, WWACS; Mr. John Cole, General Assistant to the President, Mercer University; and Mr. Randy Harshbarger, Program Manager, MCCD.

The consensus reached at the meeting was that the establishment of a CDC for the purpose of housing revitalization in Central South is both desirable and feasible. Several of those in attendance cautioned that there are no quick solutions to the problem of the neighborhood’s decline. Much time, money , and energy will be needed to reverse the situation. It was also acknowledged that no existing non-profit organization is able to take on this task, necessitating the formation of a new CDC.

                    6.   Marketing Fair Housing

Under the leadership of Dr. Vicki Eveland, Professor of Marketing at the Stetson School of Business and Economics (SSBE), Mercer students will continue to identify barriers to participation by low-income neighborhood residents in various fair housing programs. Dr. Eveland and her students will gather data from administrators of housing and finance programs, conduct focus groups with a variety of neighborhood residents, conduct in-depth interviews with residents who are in various stages of progress toward home ownership, and analyze the results from a consumer behavior perspective. This research, building on data already collected a year ago by Dr. Eveland’s class, will lead to the formulation of a marketing plan within a year.

                    7.   Form Central South CDC Task Force

The need for a new CDC is clear to all stakeholders in the Central South revitalization enterprise. To this end a CDC Task Force will be set up in early in the next reporting period. The Task Force’s members have already been identified and have agreed to participate. MCCD will play a crucial role in the launching of the Task Force.

                    8.   Build Macon Area Habitat for Humanity House in Central South

It is critical at this stage in the revitalization of Central South that neighborhood residents see visible and permanent changes as a result of the collaboration among MCCD, WWACS, and other neighborhood and community entities. To this end, MCCD has negotiated with Macon Area Habitat for Humanity to build a new house on vacant land in the heart of the Central South pocket neighborhood. Negotiations are under way for purchase of the land by Mercer University and its transfer to Macon Habitat.

D.  GENERAL

                    1.   Submission of COPC Proposal

For the second year, MCCD submitted a proposal to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for a Community Outreach Partnership Center (COPC) grant. The deadline for submission was June 9. Notification of applicants will take place in August. The proposal included a streamlined work plan, focusing on MCCD’s three main areas of activity: capacity building, education, and neighborhood redevelopment. Total project costs will be $2,958,560, including $400,000 in Federal funding, $549,705 in community matches, and $2,008,855 in Mercer match.

                    2.   Media Coverage and Public Information

In April, the Macon Telegraph produced a long article on the work of MCCD. A reporter from Macon Magazine compiled a story for publication in the October-November edition. In February, Randy Harshbarger was the guest speaker at the Macon Kiwanis Club’s monthly meeting. He and Betty Haynes from WWACS also spoke at the annual meeting of the Southern Association of Human Service Learning. Both Dr. Brown and Mr. Harshbarger spoke frequently before groups and classes at Mercer, and the work of MCCD was featured in an edition of Mercer’s Bear Tracks newspaper. In May, Mr. Harshbarger was invited by the mayor of Macon, France, Macon’s sister city, to give a presentation on MCCD’s work to his urban development team. Both parties benefitted from this sharing of cross-cultural approaches to neighborhood development.

                    3.   Apply for FHLA Grant

MCCD, along with two of its community partners, has recently been approved to apply for funding for a Federal Home Loan Bank Affordable Housing Program grant to improve housing in the Central South neighborhood. At this writing, negotiations are under way to identify a proposal writer and to formulate a common strategy.