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Christian organization aims to rebuild communities in Detroit

Jardine Malado August 23, 2016 02:07 AM EST

An abandoned area in Delray, Detroit, MI | Wikimedia Commons/Notorious4life

The Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation (CDC) is working hard to rebuild and repopulate abandoned communities in Detroit. The CDC is currently raising funds to a church and turn it into a community center that will provide space for youth and family programming, a gymnasium, a clinic and day care services.

CDC owns and manages 61 properties that include apartments, houses and several vacant lots in Detroit. The CDC already demolished some abandoned homes and turned a few of the vacant lots into parks with playgrounds and picnic tables, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

Lisa Johanon, the executive director of the non-profit organization, stated that CDC already spent $10 million to rebuild areas in the community. "Our goal is zero abandoned and vacant homes in our 24 blocks," she told Crain's Detroit Business. "Now we have 27 vacant and abandoned homes. But we will keep our hand to the plow," she added.

According to an Aug. 15 report by Model D Media, the CDC is halfway through its fundraising campaign to reach $100,000 to renovate the Tried Stone Baptist Church located at 1550 Taylor St., between the Lodge Freeway and Rosa Parks Boulevard. The CDC's goal is to make the building functional as a day care and social services provider by 2017.

Crain's Detroit Business reported that the CDC operates a range of businesses in Detroit to foster economic development and hire unemployed people in the neighborhood. One of these businesses, Peaches & Greens, operates a mobile truck and pop-up farmers markets to make fresh produce accessible to nearby communities.

The report also mentioned that the CDC has been operating in central Detroit for 21 years. CDC relies on donations from private organizations to fund its projects. "The Kresge Foundation, along with the Skillman Foundation, the Kellogg Foundation and Chase Bank, have given six-figure donations over the years," Johanon told Crain's Detroit Business.

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