Neighborhood
DNDA HOUSING NEIGHBORHOOD PROGRAMS
CROFT GARDEN PROGRAM
Behind the parking lot of Croft, there are 9 community garden beds. DNDA uses two of these beds as demonstration areas for workshops. All of the other garden beds are available to Croft residents to use all year long!
DNDA’s Environmental Educator led a workshop in September where she taught participants how to prepare their garden beds for the winter. She taught about using cover crops and burlap sacks to improve the soil structure throughout the winter. We successfully planted kale and lettuce in one of our beds. We hope Croft residents are enjoying them as much as the squirrels are!
On December 12th, we hosted a “Winter Garden Gathering”. DNDA’s Environmental Educator taught participants how to use recycled glass bottles to keep garden beds warm in the colder months.
RESIDENT COUNCILS
We are excited to announce that the Neighborhood team is supporting the formation of resident councils at all of DNDA’s properties! Residents from each of DNDA’s seven buildings will decide when and how often to meet with each other. Depending on the interest of the councils, residents can plan events, meet with DNDA’s board to advocate for change or use their meeting times to build community with resident councils in other buildings.
If you are a resident and you are interested in joining/creating a resident council contact alana@dnda.org to get started!
FINANCIAL LITERACY SERIES
We are excited to announce our partnership with Verity Credit Union. Together we have developed a personal financing workshop series for all residents! Thank you to those who filled out the Financial Literacy Survey that was distributed in October. The topics of this upcoming series will be based on your responses, such as;
- Creating a budget
- Creating a savings
- Preparing for retirement
- Understanding Interest rates
- And more!
We plan to launch this free program for all DNDA residents in early Spring of 2021. Keep your eyes peeled for flyers at your properties or in your inbox!
Due to COVID-19, these live workshops and courses will most likely be happening over Zoom. If you have any questions or issues connecting with Zoom, please call/text 509 464 6391 or email alana@dnda.org
TUTORING
Tutoring coming soon! Expected time is to arrive early Spring. It will begin at Croft and O.C.C. then be expanded to all 7 of the properties.
We are proud to announce that DNDA is partnering with King County’s Best Starts for Kids initiative to develop intergenerational, needs-based programming in the High Point neighborhood and DNDA affordable housing properties. DNDA’s new Delridge Family Connections Program allows youth and families to design and implement intergenerational programs together with DNDA staff. In fact, a DNDA virtual tutoring program for youth (ages +8), began shortly after being requested by nearly all participating families.
Our virtual tutoring program aims to improve students’ success in school, particularly in math and literacy, by offering them access to virtual learning spaces where they will receive homework help. Thanks to stable support from our Best Starts for Kids grant and the consistent involvement of caretakers, we are eager to connect underserved students to academic resources and learning experiences in a time when COVID-19 continues to exacerbate the needs of vulnerable communities.
