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Groups Raise Funds for Community Garden, Natural Playground, Pocket Park

CREDIT: ioby

ioby

Community Table Food Bank Garden

The Community Table Food Bank Garden, an organic vegetable garden in Midtown, wants to add fruit to its crop.

The garden currently donates all of its vegetables to local food pantries and soup kitchens every week with the goal of “improving the quality of the food available for our most vulnerable neighbors.”

Now, organizers are seeking to raise $2,610 by the end of the year in order to add fruit trees, a row of blueberry bushes, and native pollinator plants to the garden.

“Our Community Food Bank Garden is a beautiful wildlife haven in the center of a bustling urban neighborhood that is also serving it’s neighbor’s in a major way,” the fund-raising page reads. “We currently harvest and drop off produce weekly to our local food pantry, which serves hundreds of families. And the more healthy, safe food we can grow, the more people we can serve!”

The garden is located at 1895 Madison.

ioby

Rendering of Treadwell Natural Playground

Further east, a community group seeks to raise $20,635 to build the Treadwell Natural Playground.

The Treadwell Partners in Education group wants to provide a place to play that children in the neighborhood can easily access.

“Currently, the K-5 students at Treadwell have a pad of asphalt and an empty field to play on during recess,” the fund-raising page reads. “The closest playground that our neighborhood has access to is more than a mile away at Gaisman Park.”

The playground will use creative landscaping to “give kids an outdoor experience with some fun twists to enhance their innate curiosity and allow them to interact with nature.”

The preliminary plan for the playground includes a collection of vertical poles to “define the space, provide shape, and engage the imagination.” It also features climbing nets, crawling tunnels, balance beams, a sandbox, and seating areas.

Organizers said the need for a playground in the Heights neighborhood is great, citing a 2019 Trust for Public Land report showing that the residents there have some of the lowest access to park space in the city. The report includes an interactive map indicating the need for parks throughout the city ranging from “moderate” to “very high.” A large portion of the Heights neighborhood is colored red, indicating a very high need.

The goal is to have the playground up and running by the end of this school year. The fund-raiser ends December 7th.

Another community is looking to provide a safe space for kids to play by creating a pilot pocket park. Residents of High Point Terrace are looking to raise $8,799 by March 2020 for this project.

The park will be located on Highland and Mimosa, restricting vehicle access from Highland. The organizers anticipate this will cut down on cut-through traffic, as well as crimes in the neighborhood, such as car-theft, break-ins, and porch pirate thefts.

The pilot will run for six months and, if successful, a permanent park could be constructed.

All three projects are a part of the city and county’s New Century of Soul Challenge, meaning the funds donated will be matched up to $10,000.

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Groups Seek Funds for Afrofuturistic Garden, Food Forest, Boat Dock

CREDIT: Wolf River Conservancy

Google Maps

Site of South Memphis Future and Funk Community Art Garden

Two groups are looking to transform a vacant South Memphis lot into an Afrofuturistic-themed community garden, and are asking for donations to do so.

Using the online fund-raising platform, ioby, the Center for Transforming Communities and the United Housing Inc. are hoping to raise a little over $8,000 to create the South Memphis Future and Funk Community Art Garden.

The project is planned for a vacant lot on McMilan Street in South Memphis’ Lauderdale subdivision. Designed by Tobacco Brown, a community art garden specialist, the garden “will honor the meaning of home in South Memphis and will reimagine what the future of South Memphis as home will mean using art, photographs, and nature.”

Organizers say one goal of the garden is to engage the community and encourage the activation of other vacant properties in the city. The garden will be a “gateway to begin the discussion about creative ways to activate vacant lots and land while celebrating the culture of South Memphis and the future of the community,” the fund-raising page reads.

A community build day is scheduled for Saturday, October 5th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the site of the future garden. Volunteers will have the opportunity to work with Brown, the garden specialist, to plant flowers and build seating for the space.

Organizers are hoping to reach the fund-raising goal of $8,327 before Monday, October 7th ahead of the unveiling celebration on October 12th. The groups will host an activation celebration that day for the community to come and learn about the garden.

The celebration will feature writers Sheree Thomas and Troy Wiggins as speakers, an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, as well as poetry, dance and musical performances. The event will also provide information on fair housing in the city, programs that promote renter’s rights and home ownership, and the importance of home ownership in building wealth, equity, and stability for families.

Through its New Century of Soul Challenge, the city of Memphis has promised to match donations for this project up to $10,000. To donate go here.

ioby

Future site of the Uptown Community Food Forest


• A few miles north of the South Memphis garden site, another group is looking to transform an existing Uptown community garden into a food forest, a garden that mimics forest growth with edible plants. This strategy for growing food leads to better light exposure, simpler maintenance, and an overall better, more bio-diverse yield.

Unlike most community gardens, organizers say the Uptown Community Food Forest will utilize nearly all of the land where it sits to maximize the amount and variety of crops. The project’s organizers say the food forest will provide the community with access to naturally grown food, including seasonal and native produce that they might not otherwise have access to.

The hope is to raise the $8,675 needed for the project by the end of November. To donate to this project go here. The city is also slated to match funds for this project.

Wolf River Conservancy

Rendering of proposed boat dock

• Several miles away from the site of the future food forest, the Wolf River Conservancy is raising funds to give a Raleigh community better access to the Wolf River.


The Conservancy is looking to construct a boat dock near the recently constructed Epping Way section of the Wolf River Greenway trail. The boat dock will provide expanded access to the 20-acre lake there. In Raleigh, there is currently no safe way to access the water to teach and enjoy paddle sports, according to the Conservancy.

The hope is that the new boat dock will help the group better engage youth and adults in environmental education and recreation activities.

The Wolf River Conservancy has already secured $55,000 for the project, but is looking to raise an addition $20,635 by Friday, October 4th. The city has agreed to provide the difference if the goal isn’t met. To donate to this project, go here.

To learn about more projects in the city like these, visit the ioby site.

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Church Plans to Open Park Area For Big River Crossing Visitors

The Church on the River is raising funds to upgrade its playground in hopes of opening it up (and offering water) to visitors to Big River Crossing.

The church sits just below the Tennessee-side gate of the pedestrian bridge, which spans the Mississippi River. Its playground is now a large, grassy area, fenced for security. It has a swing set, some plastic climbing structures, and a large shade tree.

Church of the River/ioby

As for the Big River Crossing entrance, according to a statement from the church, “There are no additional amenities: no playground, no benches, no picnic tables, no shade, not even a drinking fountain.” But the church has begun a fund-raiser on the ioby crowd-funding website to change that and open the area up to all. The church wants a ”a true family-friendly destination, where children can safely play and adults can relax and find water and shade.”

The church wants to replace the current play structures with larger, more diverse play equipment, install a safe surface and drainage, build a concrete walkway from the path to the play area, install benches and picnic tables, plant new trees and other foliage, and extend water lines form the church to the area for a water fountain.
Church of the River/ioby

“But while we have the available space on our property, and the desire to share it, we are just a small congregation and, therefore, do not have the funds to make all the necessary improvements,” reads the group’s page on ioby. “While our congregation will fund many of these improvements, we are also seeking donations and grants from other sources.”

As of Thursday morning, the group has raised $6,138 of the $21,777 needed to fully fund the project.

The funds raised on ioby will specifically fund the extension of the water line for a foundation and a play area for toddlers.

The area would be reserved for church use only on Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon and during some occasional church events.

Church of the River/ioby

“We believe this playground would benefit the quality of life not only for families who live in the South Main/Downtown area, but also families from across Shelby County who visit the Big River Crossing, and adults who walk, run, or bike across the bridge,” reads the ioby page. “Our church’s desire is to be a ’good neighbor’ to all.”

For more information, visit the church’s ioby.

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‘A New Century of Soul’ Challenge Created to Fund Community Projects

The city wants to help jump start community-driven projects that make permanent improvements to public spaces.

Through the New Century of Soul challenge, Memphians can raise money to create community projects that honor the city’s first 200 years and look ahead to the next 100 years.

The challenge is a piece of Memphis and Shelby County’s larger bicentennial initiative, which was announced by Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris last week. The theme of the new era is a “new century of soul.”

The challenge is designed to fund “lasting physical improvements to public space,” according to the bicentennial site.

“We’re engaging our next generation of innovators, artists, and leaders to create our region’s future.”

In partnership with the fundraising site ioby, those with project ideas can raise funds that could be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $10,000.

Projects have to be a physical installation within Shelby County and must relate to one of the four pillars of the bicentennial initiative: culture, education, innovation, and service.

The projects must also be available to the entire community and have a “publicly accessible benefit.”

Examples of eligible projects include:

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Murals or other public art

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Community gardens

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Pocket parks

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Physical improvements to existing parks


The Memphis Brand Initiative will make the final decision of whether or not a project meets the goals of the New Century of Soul Initiative, and if it is eligible for funding under the challenge.

Submit your project idea here. 

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Livable Memphis Will Match Funding for Crowd-Sourced Projects on ioby

Citizens who crowd-source funding on ioby.org for neighborhood improvement projects can gain additional match funding through a new grant from Livable Memphis.

The Green Up Memphis Match provides $33,000 in match funds to projects posted on ioby.org, a national fund-raising site for citizen-led, community revitalization projects. Examples of recent successful fund-raising campaigns on ioby include equipment updates for Trinity United Methodist Church’s playground, movie nights at the Washington Bottoms Community Garden, and a rock garden at the “I Love Soulsville” mural at Mississippi and McLemore.

“The Green Up Memphis Match offers funding beyond the official city park — vacant lots, median strips, and community gardens are also eligible,” said Ellen Roberds, Memphis Action Strategist for ioby. “The process is approachable, accessible, and it’s doable.”

Those with project ideas who’d like to apply for Green Memphis Match money can do so here until February 8th. Fund-raising efforts for these projects will begin in March. 

Since ioby was introduced in Memphis in 2014, more than 150 locals have raised $422,000 through ioby to fund their projects. Most projects on the site are funded with budgets until $3,000.

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Operation Crosstown Seeks To Improve Neighborhood

CREDIT: Kat Franchino

A Crosstown skate park? Or maybe a dog park? Farmer’s market? Or a “banging wall” where people could pound out rhythms using found materials?

Those were just a few of the suggestions thrown out during the idea lab launch of Operation Crosstown during the Church Health Center’s (CHC) “Rock for Love” block party last month. Guests of the event stopped inside the CHC’s new Crosstown Shoppes property to write ideas on sticky notes and pin them to a wall.

After the event, the ideas were narrowed down to the doable (public art, pop-up classes) and the not-so-doable.

“Someone said they wanted a Trader Joe’s in Crosstown, and that would be awesome. But that’s not something the Church Health Center can do,” said Jerica Sandifer, development assistant for CHC.

The ideas that seemed like they might work were then uploaded to ioby.org‘s Create Memphis website (memphis.ioby.org), which allows users to “like” favorites. The CHC is hoping to turn those projects that get the most “likes” into reality.

The CHC is one of the founding partners in the Crosstown Development Project, which is currently underway to transform the vacant, 1.4-million square-foot Sears Crosstown building into a “vertical urban village” of health-care, education, and arts organizations, as well as apartments and retail.

“The CHC was one of the early adapters of our mission [to renovate the Sears building],” said Gayla Burks, director of partnerships and research for the Crosstown Development Project. “And they know this is not just about the building but about helping the community and building up what’s around the building.”

Pre-construction work on the Crosstown building began a couple months ago, and the renovations won’t be complete until 2016. But Sandifer said Operation Crosstown is a way for the CHC to get involved in the neighborhood before they officially relocate all their offices into the building.

For its first project, Operation Crosstown will be installing aluminum trash cans along Cleveland.

“There is a lot of trash in certain parts of Crosstown, especially on North Cleveland. We’re having neighborhood organizations and businesses adopt trash cans, and they’ll be responsible for managing them,” Sandifer said.

Operation Crosstown is currently accepting stencil-design ideas from local artists. Sandifer said they’re really looking for designs that represent Crosstown. Ideas may be submitted to submissions.OC@gmail.com. Five stencils will be chosen, and on November 1st, volunteers will meet up at 420 N. Cleveland to spray-paint the designs onto the cans.

Sandifer said they have a goal of completing one project per month, and they’ll select the projects that get the most support on the ioby website.

“We’re hoping to start small and then do some bigger projects,” Sandifer said. “We may move on to public art or a pop-up health clinic or class. It just depends on what people in Crosstown want based on their input on the ioby site.”

CHC is partnering with various Crosstown-area neighborhood groups such as the Vollintine-Evergreen Community Association and the Klondike-Smokey City Community Development Corporation.

“And we’re trying to get neighborhood businesses involved so this is truly a community effort foreshadowing our presence in the Sears building,” Sandifer said. “We want to collaborate with them so we’re all on the same page about what the neighborhood should look like.”

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“Rockwalk” Way-finders Approved for Memphis Music

An example of a Rockwalk sign

  • An example of a Rockwalk sign

The Downtown Memphis Commission’s Design Review Board has approved signage to be placed near historic Memphis music sites, making up an overarching way-finder project called “Rockwalk.” The 12 signs will help tourists and Memphis music aficionados find their way through downtown’s Edge neighborhood.

“I got the idea seeing people stumbling up Monroe [Avenue] looking for Sun Studio,” said Mike Todd, president of Premiere Contractors, who submitted the proposal. “It’s a lot safer to bring them down Monroe and keep them in the neighborhood.”

The sidewalk signage features historic facts and bits of trivia, along with locations like Sun Studio, Hattiloo Theatre, Sam Phillips Recording Studio, and more.

“You’re walking in the rock ‘n’ roll mecca,” Todd said.

“[Signs facing west] also include information about music and other related attractions in the Edge that hopefully will urge tourists to linger in the area and experience its richness on a deeper level,” the proposal reads. “On their return walk, the east-facing side of the signs — ‘Facts on the Edge’ — address some of the history of the buildings, businesses, and their stories of rebirth.”

The Downtown Memphis Commission’s staff report originally recommended rejection of the signs because of the “atypical nature of the request,” as the signs would be privately-owned but on public property. Other concerns included the lack of precedent that had not been set yet by the DMC and the issue of off-premise advertising since some of the signs point towards for-profit businesses.

Brett Roler, the director of planning at the Downtown Memphis Commission, said the board did not agree with the staff report’s “conservative” recommendation.

“This was a case where the approach was a little more conservative — to grant approval for the four signs that have already been constructed and then have the applicant work with the neighborhood to make sure the signs really reflect the consensus about the vision for this way-finding system,” Roler said.

The project itself has been temporarily approved for a year, but the project can be extended.

“The board felt like it was such a good idea that all 12 signs would be appropriate,” Roler added. “The board also made a point that if you only approve four signs, that’s not really enough to serve a complete way-finding function. You need more to direct people all the way through the district.”

Premiere Contractors will maintain the signs, according to the proposal submitted to the board. Now that approval has been granted, Premiere Contractors stated plans to go through fundraising tool ioby to crowdsource funding for the signs, which cost $1,250 per sign to purchase and install. Todd designed the overall signs and superintendent of the contracting company Mike Davis constructed the frames, while Justin Baker of Sign Delivery designed the graphics.

“We hope to have them up in 90 days,” Todd said.