Mission Statement
The Mission of LOCCDC is... To raise the economic and education levels of those that live and work in the LeMoyne-Owen College Community to foster and sustain a community process that will 1) eliminate racial tension, prejudice and discrimination; 2) lesson sickness, poverty, and crime; and 3) expand education, recreation, housing, and economic opportunities in the LeMoyne-Owen College Community.
Description
Lemoyne-Owen College Community Development Corporation (LOCCDC) was established by LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) in 1989. Since then, the college has utilized the CDC as the key mechanism for community development and outreach. LOCCDC has been particularly successful in the areas of community, youth and adult services, economic development, and housing. LOCCDC has made tremendous strides as the organization has become more experienced in community development. With a full time Executive Director, Director of Housing and Community Development, Director of Economic Development, Director of LOC Family Life Center (LOCFLC), CPA and additional supporting staff. These full time staff, bring recent, relevant, and successful community development experience to LOCCDC and have taken the College's community development efforts to a higher level. Our CDC caters for all members of the community young and old with it array of programs, initiatives and activities- Youth development services for young boys through LOC Family Life Center (LOCFLC, free 10 week Business Development Courses through the AmSouth Center for Entrepreneurship Business Development Institute, home buyers education classes, financial literacy classes, computer literacy classes and a teen mothers self-sufficiency program, Project Second Chance. These services are open to all interested members of this community. The LOCFLC has successfully promoted your development for the last 3 years and counting. LOCFLC provides mentoring services and supports young boys (3 rd -5 th grade academically and socially. These services offer an intervention strategy that will prevent them from becoming school drop-outs and taking the wrong paths as they fast mature and become the next generation youths. To date, LOCFLC has graduated 265 youth and 90 teen mothers from it programs. Over the years LOCCDC has become very involved in the City's Strategic Plan for this area, which is in line with the City's CDBG Plan. LOCCDC has continued to hold Community Action Coalition meetings at the College, City's Consolidated Plan meetings, and LOCCDC has served on committees that address the issues surrounding the consolidated plan and the use of CDBG dollars in this community. All of LOCCDC activities met all three of HUD's statutory objectives as outlined in the CDBG legislation and the City of Memphis Consolidated Plan . These activities include but are not limited to new home construction, acquisition of vacant lots that are cleared for construction, safe neighborhoods, training programs for the underemployed and youth development programs. These strategies are again what communities of interest demand. LOCCDC housing development initiatives is composed of acquiring vacant land in targeted housing development zones, working with the City of Memphis and LeMoyne-Owen College to have dilapidated vacant homes demolished and/or rehabilitated and/ or replaced with new housing in the target areas. This initiative has yield 14 new homes and 7 rehabilitations. The completed projects have been purchased by low income home buyers at an affordable rate.
