I don’t know where May has gone. But I can say it feels like a really good kind of busy.
We kicked off the month with the biggest improvements project we’ve undertaken in my time here at DHC—roof replacements at The Bungalows! The weather the first week of May was entirely on our side. The project stayed ahead of schedule. The mood was upbeat.
In the middle of the week I met with the members of the Community Missions Committee at DCPC with nothing but good news to report about the impact of the congregation’s very generous donation. By week’s end, Karen Toney at Ben and Jerry’s Davidson rang us up with an offer of free ice cream. A couple of Board members scrambled over to The Bungalows with me, and together we scooped and emptied the ice cream from a 70-serving tub, delivering it to residents and roofers. Mad respect for the ground crew who skillfully tossed full cups of ice cream to their co-workers on the roofs!
During the second week of the roof project, WTVI, Charlotte’s PBS television station, sent a camera man and a producer to join us on site. They spent several hours filming the work and interviewing me and a resident, as well as Peter Henry, DCPC’s lead pastor, and John Woods, our Board treasurer. We expect the segment to air this fall on WTVI’s Carolina Impact as part of a larger exploration of affordable housing initiatives in the Charlotte region.
Did I mention it’s grant-writing season? Though not nearly as visible or loud as roof work, this behind-the-scenes, head-down work we do is just as critical. Julie Calarco, our finance manager, John Woods, Give Impact’s Liz Ward and Megan Gude, and I have been holed up this month, working the cash flow analyses and pulling together grant applications positioned to help underwrite the ambitious array of work we’ve scoped for The Bungalows. Every grant-writing dollar brought to the project reduces the sizeable debt we will otherwise carry on the community’s behalf to keep our affordable housing assets viable. And it allows us to leverage at least some of our borrowing power to create new affordable housing.
The month of May truly has been a whirlwind so far. And at this pace it would be easy to lose our bearings.
No chance, that.
DHC has sunk deep roots in this community, and those roots ground us. Here are the reminders we’ve had already this month that our work is far from solitary:
- The first Saturday in May was Town Day, and DHC joined the mix on the Town Green. At our table, children helped us build and decorate houses—folding paper homes to keep and snapping together models that formed a short streetscape for everyone to enjoy. Davidson College interns Sofia Cimballa and Mary Claire Hendrick helped pull the whole thing together, including the kick-off for our first student art competition.
- Last Friday, our TRADES students from Community School of Davidson wrapped up their second, annual design/build project in our Creekside neighborhood. We have a new, more functional, easier-on-the-eyes trash corral, thanks to these student builders and their mentors Joe Grainda, Jay Fesperman, and Bennett Skinner of Grainda Builders and CSD teacher Jeff Hinton.
- I joined the throng in front of the Chambers building last Sunday to cheer as our very own Davidson College interns Sophie Marro and Jayden Smith walked the stage during graduation. We’ll miss these two students who helped us breathe new life into our internship program.
We value our connection to Davidson because we are Davidsonians. It’s hard to imagine doing the work well without this critical community context, which is why . . .
The BLOCK PARTY is coming!!! Thursday, June 5 from 5-7 pm at the corner of Sloan and Mock! Come join us for music, a meal, and meet-up with your Davidson neighbors!
