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YNDC is receiving $25,000 for a community workshop facility
YOUNGSTOWN
The Home Savings Charitable Foundation is donating $25,000 to the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp. for its community workshop.
YNDC is building the workshop to conduct planning, training, agricultural and neighborhood project activities at its location at 820 Canfield Road. Construction of the community facility is designed to help YNDC serve low-income neighborhoods in the city and help groups conduct neighborhood improvement activities.
The workshop would provide saws and power tools for those wanting to cut wood to be used to board up vacant properties and for housing repairs and gardens, said Ian Beniston, YNDC’s deputy director.
The workshop is being built on YNDC’s property on Canfield Road, behind the Iron Roots Urban Farm.
Iron Roots, built about two years ago, is a 1.5-acre working farm that trains city residents in market gardening techniques, encourages business creation on vacant land — the property was vacant when YNDC purchased it — and helps develop small businesses that could lead to job creation, Beniston said.
In addition to Home Savings donation, the J. Ford Crandall Foundation is providing the remaining $10,000 to build the $35,000 facility, Beniston said.
The Home Savings Charitable Foundation will present the check at 11 a.m. today at the YNDC.
YNDC is a neighborhood-development corporation in Youngstown formed in 2009. The agency provides planning services to the city as well as various programs that restore vacant and foreclosed properties, provides first-mortgage financing to those who don’t qualify for traditional lending institution loans, and provides fresh food and vegetables from five community gardens.
The charitable foundation has provided $11 million to nonprofit organizations since 1988.