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How a Waco nonprofit built a community grocery store in a food desert

Ciara McCarthy

June 27, 2020 |

The Victoria Advocate |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Waco, Texas

Jubilee provides an oasis in a desert - a food desert that is. The community grocery store provides the only fresh food for miles around at competitive prices and makes an effort to cater to the local clientele, stocking items that have been requested and offering locals a discount. The much-needed grocer is the work of a local nonprofit, Mission Waco, which worked with the community to assess its need before raising funds from corporations and celebrities. The success of Jubilee serves as an example to food deserts across the state who have looked to it for a blueprint to serve their own communities.

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This Nonprofit Helps Small Business Aid Go Where it Usually Doesn't

Oscar Perry Abello

May 21, 2020 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

An American nonprofit called the Community Reinvestment Fund expands access to small business loans by partnering with almost two dozen groups across the country to set up and scale up their community development lending. Founded in 1988, the group essentially takes on the risk of a SBA license so that others could benefit from their license. They created an online platform called Spark that redesigned the user interface of the existing loan processor platform to better facilitate the exchange of money. They have now supported loans for 1,000 communities across 49 states.

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The Complicated Calculus of Helping Neighbors During a Pandemic

Annie Correal

March 24, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

As social distancing and isolation become increasingly important in stopping the spread of the coronavirus, volunteers and neighborhood groups are helping seniors and Immunocompromised people access necessessities. In New York, volunteering to help neighbors in times of crisis is not new – many local community groups emerged after Hurricane Sandy – but recent health restrictions have created cause for new protocols such as contactless support.

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Beside a Vast Graveyard, a New City Rises in Haiti

Jacob Kushner

March 21, 2020 |

Pacific Standard |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Haiti, Canaan

A survivor of Haiti's earthquake sought out a new home on an unclaimed plot of land which is home to one of the country's largest cemeteries. Madame Roy built a neighborhood from the ground up with the help of architects and funding from people who wanted to be residents of the future city. Roads, homes, a cistern, a soccer field, and a school were all built without the help of the Haitian government. 200,000 residents who lost everything in the earthquake have found a chance to start over in the new city of Canaan.

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This rag-tag group of DIYers has an answer for rural PA's internet problem

Min Xian

March 03, 2020 |

WHYY |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

The Rural Broadband Cooperative took matters into its own hands after local and state politicians failed to provide high-speed internet for their rural Pennsylvania county. Telecommunications companies did not consider Huntingdon County a priority so community members who include carpenters, welders, and crane operators all came together to find a solution for a problem that affected everyone from children to business owners and realized all they needed was a radio tower on a mountaintop. The group built and installed it themselves, spending only $50,000 and providing internet for 1,000 locals.

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How one Toronto church is beating the odds

Karen Black

February 03, 2020 |

TVO |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: Canada, Toronto, Ontario

Facing closure and financial ruin, the Toronto Roncesvalles United Church found a new source of income: their own physical space. The church began renting or donating rooms for flea markets, yoga classes, shiatsu, children's theater, and more. The church says that they are "redefining how [they] do God," and that their mission is about serving the people in the community rather than remaining exclusively secular. As a result, the church topped $200,000 for the first time in its history in 2019.

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‘IKEA, but for Parks' Project Streamlines Community Green Space Development

Hannah Chinn

January 30, 2020 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Vacant lots in the city are being greened with an idea dubbed “IKEA, but for parks” which provides preassembled options to create parks in vacant lots. Community members are given layout and design options to choose from based on how the neighborhood decides to utilize their empty lots. Residents are then provided with supplies and training to build and maintain a public green space. The model allows for efficiency and speed while promoting civic participation.

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Fix It and They Will Come

Laurie Mazur

December 01, 2019 |

The Progressive |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Orange, New Jersey

Around the United States, small-town institutions are shuttering and communal ties are weakening, all less than positive signs for the fate of democracy. But in Orange, New Jersey, Mindy Fullilove and other congregants at the First Unitarian Universalist Church used a crowdfunding platform called ioby and asset-based community development to keep the doors of their church open and their community flourishing.

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Where Tech Is Helping People Become Better Neighbors

Nick Fouriezos

November 25, 2019 |

OZY |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Napa, California

From Google's India-focused app Neighbourly to the wellknown Nextdoor app, social media specifically targeted at connecting neighbors is gaining ground. Whether being used to rate neighborhood attractions, encourage borrowing or sharing of resources, report suspicious neighborhood activity or simply to find a way to make connections, these apps are aimed at decreasing social isolation and increasing community interactions.

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GPS for Air Travel Came With Big Downsides: Noise, Then Lawsuits

Amy Zipkin

November 18, 2019 |

The New York Times |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Scottsdale, Arizona

To enhance air travel, the F.A.A. rolled out a system that enables airplanes to fly closer together using GPS, rather than the traditional radar locators. But residents near these new flight paths have risen up to contest the air pollution created by the lower, more frequent flight patterns. With impending lawsuits, the F.A.A. has to work with local officials to create a joint solution.

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