Dionna Sargent Recognized for her Significant Contribution of Technical Expertise Supporting Award Application
The Central Baptist Community Development Corporation (CDC) recently received a Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank Pittsburgh) Affordable Housing Program (AHP) award. The grant will support the Eastside Rising Lacy Redevelopment Project, providing affordable housing to two very low-income families in Wilmington, DE. A vacant two-story building in Wilmington’s Eastside neighborhood will be revitalized to create one 2-bedroom unit and one 3-bedroom unit. The project will provide construction jobs and on-site construction training through the Challenge Program – the project’s construction manager – and through Central Baptist CDC’s Eastside Rising Training Center, which offers construction training for community adults. The project also advances Eastside’s Blueprint Communities plan, an initiative of the FHLBank Pittsburgh created to assist communities in need of revitalization. The Blueprint Communities mission is to serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of distressed areas resulting in sustainable, healthy communities by energizing local leaders, residents and stakeholders; facilitating holistic community planning; and encouraging public and private investment.
Dionna Sargent, Community Development Market Leader, was instrumental in assisting the Central Baptist CDC with the AHP application. Dionna provided technical support, ensured deadlines were met, and made herself available to the Central Baptist CDC staff as needed.
“Dionna took the lead in our application for the FHLBank Pittsburgh AHP application, dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s while holding everyone on the team accountable for submissions and deadlines,” said Reverend T.S. Keeling, Central Baptist CDC president & CEO. “There is no way we would have gotten the grant approval without her. As I have said many times, Dionna is a gem. We thank her and Cinnaire for understanding how important technical assistance is to organizations like ours and for knowing what it means to be a good community development partner. You guys are the best.”
The Central Baptist CDC is a centrally located urban community organization where people are empowered, connected, and then given the opportunity to contribute toward building, strengthening, and revitalizing the community. Their mission is to provide a structure for community interaction that empowers people to engage in the process of change, which results in the physical, social and spiritual/physiological transformation of their community. To learn more about the Central Baptist CDC, please click here.
