An international faith movement with a regional office in Grand Rapids is ready to launch a neighborhood revitalization effort focused on improving a neighborhood within the Eastown community using resources and collaborations from across the city.
According to excerpts from the story:
Valerie Mossman-Celestin has been working for more than a decade to bring about change in Haiti — and she is using the organizational skills she has mastered to help bring a new type of social development to Grand Rapids. The United Methodist Church's Communities of Shalom, an 18-year-old mission, this month is making its first move in Michigan.
Starting Feb. 19, monthly trainings are scheduled through June to assemble partners, evaluate their strengths and align them in a collective effort to improve the Eastown area near Trinity United Methodist Church, 1100 Lake Drive SE.
"It's an intentional strengthening of collaboration among local partners so we can assess one another's strengths and utilize those strengths to accomplish what none of us could do individually," said Mossman-Celestin, who works in the regional United Methodist Church office, at 11 Fuller Ave. SE, and also has started an economic development ministry for women in Haiti. "There's a lot of people out there making great individual efforts, and this is a way to pull people together into an integrated effort. It takes a community of partners."
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