Westside Communities Alliance

A partnership between Atlanta's westside communities and institutions of higher education.

“How Can Colleges and Universities Engage in Community Development: A Communities Perspective.”

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You’re invited to attend the first Westside Communities Alliance (WCA) Discussion Forum entitled “How Can Colleges and Universities Engage in Community Development: A Communities Perspective.” 

Event Flyer: WCA_Panel_Nov15

The forum will take place Friday afternoon, November 15th, 3:00-5:00pm at 590 North Avenue NW, Atlanta, 30318. We are pleased to have Dr. Harley Etienne, one of the founders of the Westside Communities Alliance and author of Pushing Back the Gates: Neighborhood Perspectives on University-Driven Revitalization in West Philadelphia moderating the discussion.

The City of Atlanta has prioritized the development of the Westside through a commitment to support the new Atlanta Falconʼs stadium, advances with the BeltLineʼs Westside Trail, and more. There are at least seven colleges and universities located in West Atlanta, and more than half of all Atlanta college students are educated on the Westside. We believe hearing Westside community voices and understanding resident perspectives is essential for lasting community transformation. Through this forum the WCA seeks to provide a platform for community organizations and active residents to share concerns, interests, and wishes for responsible partnerships with Atlantaʼs area colleges and universities. Together, we believe, we can bring about community transformation that has lasting benefits across all Westside communities.

The WCA provides a mechanism for sustained partnerships with city officials, relevant funders, higher education institutions and community stakeholders. Together, we can develop comprehensive solutions for complex community challenges. Together, we can rebuild thriving urban neighborhoods on Atlantaʼs westside. Together, we can do better.

#AMarchForEducation

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On Saturday, October 5th, Region 3 NSBE students from universities across the Southeast as well as students, faculty, and parents from local schools marched from Centennial Olympic Park to Georgia Tech’s campus.

Marchees descend Tech Walkway

Following the march, which was well-received, apparent by the resounding car honks the group garnered, was a series of speakers at the Georgia Tech Kessler Campanile amphitheater. First up, were two Kindezi School students Carlos Williams and Nubia Udoh, that won a speech-writing competition inspired by civil and human rights activist Ella Baker. Next, was the the National Society of Black Engineers Atlanta Chapter Pre-College Initiative Chair Raymond Alan who spoke about the hurdles to becoming a black engineering student and why it’s important to stick with it. Finally, Reverand Dr. Gerald Durley recalled his time as an activist in the  Civil Rights Movement alongside Dr. Martin Luther King and gave a moving talk about overcoming labels.

Rev. Dr. Gerald Durley addressing march attendees

The Georgia Tech Walkway was host to a tabling event with information on getting into college, testing, and other education-related organizations.

View the Facebook album here.

Hands on Atlanta Day with Ivan Allen College

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Written by Georgia Tech student Danielle Sharpe*.

Last Saturday, a group of Georgia Tech students and I journeyed over to the Bellwood Boys and Girls Club to volunteer at the opening event for Hands On Atlanta Day. Student volunteers were representing the Ivan Allen College, Circle K, the Black Graduate Student Association, and the Westside Communities Alliance (WCA). We all worked hand in hand to give more life to an already vibrant boys and girls club.

WCA Community Liaison, Sheri Davis-Faulkner and IAC volunteers in front of a completed reading loft.

Much of the projects reminded us of our carefree days as elementary students, which was long before we all accepted the challenge to become Georgia Tech students. From painting murals and cornhole platforms to revamping the playground areas and building reading lofts, volunteering at the Bellwood Boys and Girls Club was very much like a morning full of arts and crafts. We even got to decorate birdhouses!

Painting cornhole sets

 

Beyond being able to show our creative prowess, we got a chance to get a deeper understanding of our service. The volunteer event was organized and funded primarily by Ivan Allen IV, grandson of Tech alum and Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. From his mayoral term, Ivan Allen, Jr. left a legacy of social courage for racial progression in a major southern city. Seeing Ivan IV live his grandfather’s visions was very moving, and it was even more special knowing that we were a part of his grandfather’s vision, too.

We are very appreciative of Ivan Allen IV, the Ivan Allen College, WCA, The Salvation Army Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Atlanta, and Hands On Atlanta for organizing such an enjoyable, yet insightful event. Personally, I think that it is wonderful and necessary that the Ivan Allen College and WCA are taking the initiative to serve nearby communities because the communities in the Westside are literally our neighbors. This volunteering event allowed my peers and me to see that it is important to give back to our communities, especially those that are historically linked to us. In closing, if you want to walk, live, and breathe the Tech motto of “Progress and Service,” you’re at Georgia Tech. You can do that!

WCA Staff, Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club Staff, and Ivan Allen IV

 

View the entire Facebook album.

*Danielle is a graduating junior, majoring in History, Technology, and Society (HTS) at Georgia Tech. She is also completing a certificate in Land Development because of her personal interest in the design of cities. Danielle is involved with the Student Advisory Board for the Ivan Allen College as the Webmaster and HTS representative. She is also an active volunteer with the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition, a community-based wellness and prevention organization that serves the English Avenue community in the Westside and one of the WCA’s partners.

 

Technique: Connecting Students with Service

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 Connecting students with service

Photo Courtesy of Westside Communities AlliancePhoto Courtesy of Westside Communities Alliance

 
 
 

The Westside Communities Alliance (WCA), a communications network that connects volunteers with service projects in Atlanta, shows great promise. Started by two west-side neighborhoods and Tech’s Westside Task Force in 2011, the WCA offers students an option to get involved in ongoing, long-term projects that directly improve several aspects of life in west Atlanta. Though the WCA has a wide range of projects, it still needs more funding to be sustainable and has yet to gain a foothold in the general Tech community. By improving its campus presence, the WCA could greatly develop as a program.

WCA helps organize the Semester-in-the-City courses, which offer Tech honors students a chance to explore urban neighborhoods and the unique challenges in each locale. These programs, though rewarding, would be more effective if they were extended and publicized to a wider set of students. Involving more students in the Semester-in-the-City program would give the participants first-hand experience with the issues in urban communities and directly increase membership with WCA.

Taking active measures to ensure a strong campus presence is also necessary. Setting up a showcase with community service projects or holding student workshops would increase student awareness. Additionally, forming a group of student representatives would enable WCA to directly communicate with Tech students. By pushing their name and creating a reputation on campus, WCA can accomplish many of its short-term and long-term goals.

Since one of their objectives is to match passionate students with service projects, WCA can further increase their campus presence by taking suggestions for community project ideas. Not only would this gain student approval, but it would also improve the quality of the organization as a whole.

Technique: WCA Works to Establish Community Connections

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 WCA works to establish community connections

Photo by Ben KeyserlingPhoto by Ben Keyserling

The Westside Community Alliance (WCA) is a communications network developed in 2011 by Tech’s Ivan Allen College of the Liberal Arts (IAC), the College of Architecture (COA) and the Office of Government and Community Relations (GCR) with other partners throughout the community.

“Georgia Tech has such a reputation nationally and internationally for problem solving, for engagement and for public works and service…so my question was: we do all of this stuff around the world; what do we do across the street?” said Dean Jacqueline Royster of the Ivan Allen College, who was the driving force behind the creation of this community organization.

In its two years of existence, the WCA has facilitated quarterly meetings, a listserv and a website to serve as a basis for an ongoing communication network for connections between Tech, other universities in the area, neighborhood associations, businesses, the City of Atlanta, Atlanta Fire Rescue, Atlanta Public Schools, direct service organizations, non-profits and other organizations.

As a response to Tech’s Strategic Vision and Plan, the WCA encompasses what it means to establish strategic partnerships, especially with those in the immediate area of Tech. Working through various schools and departments, they have established the Westside GT Taskforce, which is an internal network of Tech faculty who are teaching relevant courses, researchers, student organizations and campus volunteers, doing engaged research or planning projects on the Westside of Atlanta.

Some of the neighborhoods that WCA works in are Bankhead, where the average unemployment for the 16 and older population is 31 percent, English Avenue, where vancant residential structures make up 52 percent of those in the neighborhood, Washington Park, where 65 percent of average households have an income under $35,000 annually, and Vine City where there are about 3,232 food stamp recipients per square mile, according to Neighborhood Nexus.

“Often times people are working within blocks of each other and don’t know each other or they’re working at the same site,” said Sheri Davis-Faulkner, Community Liaison for the Westside Community Alliance. “They just come on a different day and they work with a different person, so they don’t know that there are ways that they could simply be working together on a lot of these projects.”

The Westside GT Taskforce includes programs like the Honors Program’s Semester-In-The-City course which invites students to explore how urban neighborhoods and schools work and provide opportunities to work in those communities. It also includes the College of Architecture, Project Studio: Northside Drive Corridor, which involved graduate students developing four extensive proposals to advance Northside Drive as a prominent transit corridor. A final example is the CEISMC Mentoring Program, in which all programs operate under similar goals to improve performance and proficiency by providing tutors and mentors with schools in the Atlanta area.

Along with many other initiatives, these focus in on four areas that the WCA has targeted as key issue areas that many partners are actively engaged in. As Davis-Faulkner explained, these include food and health, education and student engagement, water and the environment as well as development and transit. This was a way that they were able to fill in gaps and continue to do something other umbrella organizations like it weren’t necessarily a part of yet.

http://nique.net/news/2013/09/19/wca-works-to-establish-community-connections/