HOPE Community Partnerships
Client: Drew, Moorhead, Itta Bena, Shaw, Utica, Yazoo City, and Louisville
Funder/Partner: Hope Enterprise Corporation / Hope Credit Union
Timeframe: 2016-2020
Strategic Investments in Mississippi's Small Towns
We are proud to be a partner of Hope Enterprise Corporation and Hope Credit Union (HOPE).HOPE has been committed to working for Mississippi, centered on the mission to strengthen communities, build assets, and improve lives in economically distressed areas of the Deep South with a focus on the Mississippi Delta.
Recognizing the disadvantages that face small, rural towns, HOPE initiated the Small Towns Partnership program with seven Mississippi communities - Drew, Moorhead, Itta Bena, Shaw, Utica, Yazoo City, and Louisville. The intention of the work was to "develop the capacity of small towns to expand economic opportunity, facilitate sustainable change, and create thriving communities." Throughout an extensive community engagement process led byDuvall Decker Architects in 2016 and 2017, the Delta Design-Build Workshop has helped HOPE to engage in conversations with these communities, support local leaders, and fill resource gaps to realize high-priority strategic projects.
Through HOPE's initiative to help strengthen the capacity of their small town partners, small, catalytic grants were made to the communities to complete ready-to-implement projects. As a part of these grants, Delta DB completed installation of benches and a drinking fountain on an existing public walking trail in Shaw, installed a new playground in the Eastmoor Circle Subdivision, and renovated a community center in Itta Bena. In Moorhead, Delta DB built a new playground for preschool aged children, made playground upgrades to their existing facilities, and installed musical instruments along a public walking path. In Drew, Delta DB worked with the community to design and build a new public pavilion that also serves as a stage during their annual "Drew Days" and in Utica, Delta DB designed a future public pavilion for the farmers market and community events in Utica. HOPE's Small Town initiative has also supported Delta DB's work for the Blight Elimination Programs in Moorhead, Drew, Shaw, and Yazoo City as a first step towards addressing the critical need for affordable housing in those communities.
Today, HOPE has rebranded the Small Town Partnerships as the HOPE Community Partnerships as they continue this important work. Look for a new project page on this site in 2021 for HOPE and Delta DB's efforts on the Drew Grocery Pick-up.
