150 volunteers from CoxHealth will join Thrivent Financial, Habitat for Humanity of Springfield, MO, and residents of Woodland Heights to Rock the Block for the second Neighborhood Revitalization project in Woodland Heights.
Rock the Block, set for Thursday, September 29, 2016, will kick-off with a volunteer rally featuring speakers Cora Scott, City of Springfield, and Becky Volz, Woodland Heights Neighborhood Association Board, at 1:00 p.m. at Lafayette Park 202 E Atlantic St. Springfield, MO 65803 before volunteers disseminate to designated volunteer sites. Volunteers will be working on projects from 9:00 a.m. – noon, and 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. on N. Jefferson Ave.
During the inaugural Rock the Block event, volunteers from CoxHealth and Thrivent Financial will complete 13 home preservation and repair projects along Jefferson Avenue in Springfield’s Zone 1. Projects include painting, exterior home repairs, and yard clean-ups. The projects are funded by Thrivent Financial’s Thrivent Builds Repairs program which brings financial, volunteer and advocacy resources to the mission of Habitat for Humanity to assist with home builds and repairs at home and worldwide.
Neighborhood Revitalization (NR) is an approach to serve more families by responding to community goals with a variety of products, services and partnerships to enable residents to revive their neighborhoods and enhance their quality of life. Through NR, Habitat for Humanity will continue to provide home building and repair services, in addition to building partnerships with churches, schools, nonprofits, civic groups and businesses to provide an array of services that address the neighborhood goals determined by residents of Woodland Heights.
Woodland Heights was selected as the targeted area for Habitat for Humanity’s NR program in July 2016 for having a higher number of owner occupied homes in Springfield’s Zone 1, the number of residents identified as living in poverty, and a strong relationship with neighborhood leaders dedicated to achieving community goals.
