Charitable Fund
Project 2007-2009
Dominican Center for Women
Mission: help create a beautiful and safe neighborhood
consisting primarily of homeowners who are well educated and well employed.
Champions:
Anne Curley, President, Curley Communication
Margaret Henningsen, Founder and VP, Legacy Bank and Legacy
Bancorp.
The Dominican Center is seeking support from
Professional Dimensions to cover the cost of preparing 20 low-income women
and their families to become the proud owners of new homes to be constructed
in Milwaukee's central city during the term of the PD grant.
Habitat for Humanity
has committed to build up to 30 homes in the Center's service area over the
next three years if we can help them line up enough qualified buyers. Our
shared goal is to find these buyers among the poor families (almost all of
which are headed by women) who already reside in the neighborhood as
renters.
However, all or most
of these residents will require extensive credit counseling and overall
financial and home maintenance education before they are prepared to make
the leap to home ownership. Some will also require small grants. The
Dominican Center has a successful track record of providing such support,
having 59 success stories to its credit. But this is a resource-intensive
undertaking. At present, we estimate we have the capacity to provide just
three qualified buyers a year. With funding of at least $25,000 a year from
Professional Dimensions, we believe we could identify and equip at least 10
buyers a year to become successful homeowners.
This funding would
represent a significant contribution to our overall operation, given that
the Center's total budget for 2007 is $302,000. Other sources of
funding include foundations (e.g. Pettit Foundation, Miller Brewing
Foundation), the City of Milwaukee (for our lead abatement program), our
resale shop, and several hundred individual donors.
The Dominican Center for Women, Inc.
has been operating successfully in the central city since 1990. Its mission
is to help African-American women and their families to develop their voice
and their potential while transforming the surrounding 12-square-block
neighborhood into a beautiful, safe community.
By concentrating on a contained geographic
area -- bounded by 20th St. on the east, 27th St. on the west, Keefe Ave. on
the south and Center St. on the north -- the Dominican Center is building a
reputation as a practical model for uplifting both lives and
neighborhoods.
The Center has a well established record of
helping neighborhood residents (mainly female heads of
households) to attain three cornerstones of self-sufficiency: education,
self-esteem and home ownership.
Founded by Dominican Sisters Ann Halloran
and Anne-Marie Doyle, the center initially concentrated on education with a
strong emphasis on the transformational power of the arts. Helping women
gain both job-readiness skills and the sense of self-worth that comes from
expressing oneself creatively continues to be a major focus of the
organization. Each year, 80 students are enrolled who otherwise might fall
through the proverbial cracks. Ranging in age from 20 to 70, these are poor
women who know they want something more for themselves and their children,
but who generally know little or nothing about how to access "the system."
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