JACKSON, Tenn. – Jameson Colbert and Abby Palmer were selected to serve as the City of Jackson’s Love Your Block Fellow and AmeriCorp VISTA, respectively, and have joined the Mayor’s Office to participate in the Love Your Block Cities of Service grant program.
Colbert, a native of Jackson, TN, graduated from Liberty Technology Magnet High School and attended Bethel University. Colbert will serve to provide guidance to the VISTA throughout the program, manage mini-grant application recipients, and other duties.
“I am excited to empower my community to create the community they want to see,” said Colbert. “I want it to be a place they love and are proud to call home.”
Palmer, a native of Chattanooga, Tenn., received her Bachelor’s degree from University of Tennessee Chattanooga and a Master’s Degree from Colorado State. Palmer’s role will be to support the Love Your Block mini-grant application, selection, and implementation process for neighborhood revitalization projects in target low-income communities as well as other duties.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to assist in this neighborhood initiative for the city,” said Palmer. “I see this mini-grant opportunity as a building block to enhancing communities in Jackson.”
The City of Jackson will receive a $100,000 grant over two years to support resident-led efforts to fight blight and to fund a Love Your Block Fellow drawn from the community, as well as up to two AmeriCorps VISTA members and technical assistance from expert Cities of Service staff. Both Colbert and Palmer will serve in city hall to build capacity for resident engagement and help strengthen communities.
"We are excited to have Jameson and Abby join our team for the Love Your Block program," said Mayor Scott Conger. "They each have a passion to make the community better and I look forward to the positive changes they will bring with our residents through this initiative.”
The City of Jackson joined the following cities in this program: Albany, NY; El Paso, TX; Erie, PA; Nashua, NH; Salt Lake City, UT; Shawnee, OK; and White Plains, NY.
Click the Love Your Block – Jackson, TN link to visit their site. Follow Love Your Block - Jackson, TN on Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) @lybjacksontn.
About Love Your Block
Love Your Block is a Cities of Service grant program that brings city leaders and residents together to build stronger neighborhoods, one block at a time. Through the program, the City of Jackson, TN will award mini-grants to residents and community partners to reduce blight and spur neighborhood-driven change.
Since 2009, Cities of Service has helped nearly 50 cities implement Love Your Block. More than 26,000 community members have revitalized over 3,500 community spaces, creating nearly 750 art displays, cleaning 98,000 square feet of graffiti, removing 6 million pounds of trash, and much more.
A study by the Urban Institute found that Love Your Block helped cities fight blight by supporting resident-led projects and also formed reciprocal relationships between residents and city hall that helped spur citizen-centered innovations in policy and practice. The report built on an earlier Urban Institute report finding that the connections forged between city leaders and residents at the neighborhood level can be one of the most important catalysts for collective action by neighborhood residents. This connection between city officials and residents both boost the social capital exercised by residents who plan and implement Love Your Block projects and strengthen social cohesion.
About Cities of Service
Cities of Service helps mayors build stronger cities by changing the way local government and residents work together. We help our coalition cities tap into resident insights, skills, and service to identify and solve critical public problems. Founded in 2009 by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Cities of Service supports a coalition of more than 280 cities, representing more than 84 million people across the Americas and Europe. Cities of Service is now part of Johns Hopkins University’s efforts to support governments through innovation and evidence-based research. Learn more about Cities of Service at citiesofservice.jhu.edu and by following us on Twitter @citiesofservice.
