Janedora Danzy, a 2008 Charlotte Housing Authority Scholarship Fund (CHASF) Recipient, has received a 2008 SERC/NAHRO Award. The award is given by the Carolinas Council Scholarship Program to residents who live in assisted housing administered or managed by a Public Housing Authority that is a member of the Carolinas Council.

Award recipients are selected on criteria including grade point average, extracurricular activities, need, and education/career goals. Danzy also submitted an essay enthusiastically detailing her volunteer work as a youth leader in the Wingate neighborhood association. She plays a vital role communicating neighborhood news to other youth in the community, as well as speaking with the local neighborhood board about local youth concerns and issues.

Danzy has a passion for the arts and plans to major in photography and wants to develop a scrapbook for the Wingate neighborhood to show its growth over the years.

For more information about the Charlotte Housing Authority, visit www.cha-nc.org.

Searching for ways to strengthen your neighborhood? Register for Community University, a training program with classes and course topics designed to increase your knowledge and skills of neighborhood organizations. Here is this summer's schedule:

Friday, July 25—Neighborhood Team Building
Friday, August 8—Community Improvement Projects
Friday, August 15—Inside the Quality of Life Study

8:30 – 10 a.m.
First Mount Zion Baptist Church,
1515 Remount Road

For more information or to register online, visit the Community University web site. You can also e-mail neighservs@ci.charlotte.nc.us or call 704-336-2061 to register for the Community University workshops. If your neighborhood has a specific need, you can arrange for a customized training workshop as well.

The City of Charlotte Weed & Seed Program, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation and MeckCares are sponsoring the first Eastside Back-to-School Festival. The festival will feature information on services for students and families geared to prepare children for academic success throughout the school year, including after school programs, local school information and family assistance programs.

Entertainment and educational sessions will also be provided and prizes will be given to participants.

Saturday, August 2
Eastland Mall,
5471 Central Avenue

For more information about the Eastside Back-to-School Festival or Weed & Seed programs, call 704-336-8408 or 704-336-8409.

An upcoming forum will bring together representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), National Community Reinvestment Coalition and HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agencies to discuss fair lending requirements of the Federal Fair Housing Act, how to avoid predatory lending, and foreclosure alternatives.

The forum will educate the public and housing professionals about HUD resources and programs, and also address issues related to foreclosure prevention and options available to homeowners facing foreclosure.

Local and national experts will be available to answer questions about enforcing fair lending laws, foreclosure prevention strategies and government programs helping families keep their homes.

Thursday, August 7
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center, Room CH-14
600 E. Fourth Street 

Contact the HUD Fair Lending Forum line at 1-800-871-9012 ext. 70948 or e-mail HUD2008MediaCampaign@gmail.com to reserve a place at the forum or to request additional information.

Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access the above telephone number via TTY by calling the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339, indicate if you need reasonable accommodation while making your reservation.

The Neighborhood Matching Grants Program has been helping Charlotte citizens improve neighborhoods for more than a decade. The program awards funds to eligible neighborhood-based organizations for projects that will make local neighborhoods better places to live, work, play, and shop. The program helps strengthen neighborhood organizations, while encouraging increased neighborhood participation and partnerships with the city and others.

Grant applications are due Monday, September 15.

Pre-application workshops are held one month prior to the application due date, and attendance is mandatory before an application can be submitted, so sign up today! The next pre-application workshop will be held Tuesday, July 29 from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Freedom Regional Library (1230 Alleghany Street).

Call 704-336-2061 or visit the Neighborhood Development web site for a complete list of pre-application workshops or to check your organization's eligibility.