SOURCE: The Home Depot

DESCRIPTION:

Westside Future Fund is a nonprofit organization with a compassionate approach to neighborhood revitalization in Atlanta’s historic Westside community. Their goal is to improve the quality of life for current and future residents while elevating the area’s unique history and culture.

Nestled in what was once the heart of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s, Westside Future Fund serves neighborhoods like Ashview Heights, Vine City and West End, a community Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ambassador Andrew Young called home. With such a rich history, Westside Future Fund feels it’s their purpose as an organization to preserve the culture and help residents thrive as the community grows and evolves.

Approximately 40% of the homes in the community are currently vacant and abandoned. Many residents of Atlanta’s Westside worry about being displaced. "We’ve witnessed other historically Black neighborhoods in Atlanta see long-time residents priced out, and the culture and character of those communities erased,” Cristel explains.

Through the support of partners like The Home Depot Foundation, Westside Future Fund builds affordable mixed-income housing, nurtures “cradle-to-career" education and revitalizes parks, green spaces and other community gathering areas. The organization also helps establish and maintain new safety protocols like Westside Blue, a security patrol program with the Atlanta Police Foundation and the Atlanta Police Department.

The Westside Future Fund is working to disrupt the cycle of poverty, erase the barriers created by systemic racism and preserve some of Atlanta’s historically Black neighborhoods. By serving communities like the Westside, Black residents have access to higher-performing schools and better opportunities for their children.

Visit WestsideFutureFund.org to learn more about their programs and their vision for the community and its residents.

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Tweet me: The Westside of Atlanta is known historically as the home of civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ambassador Andrew Young. Today, it’s a community creating opportunities for Black residents, thanks in part to the @WFFAtlanta. https://bit.ly/3LQtPz0 @homedepot

KEYWORDS: The Home Depot, NYSE: HD, Westside Future Fund, black history month