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File #: 0519-2015    Version: 1
Type: Ordinance Status: Passed
File created: 2/11/2015 In control: Administration Committee
On agenda: 2/23/2015 Final action: 2/25/2015
Title: To authorize City Council and the Recreation and Parks Director to enter into contract with The Harmony Project for the purpose of providing programing for at-risk youth; and to authorize the Department of Recreation and Parks to monitor the contract; and to authorize the appropriation and expenditure of $100,000.00 in the Neighborhood Initiatives Fund; and to declare an emergency. ($100,000.00)
Explanation

The Harmony Project is a non-profit organization created to connect communities across social divides through art, education, and volunteerism. We provide opportunities for individuals of different cultures, religions, ages, affiliations, and orientations to work together, with the intention of fostering a stronger, more inclusive community.
The Harmony Project shares its name and purpose with its 220-plus member choir (and additional 300+ voices in afterschool, shelter, and prison programs) which blends diversity, philanthropy and music. The arts programs are open to anyone, and have attracted diverse participants from throughout central Ohio. Through its first five years, Harmony Project has been successful in meeting its mission and has made exceptional contributions to the Columbus community through hands-on volunteerism, and through charitable fundraising. Among these contributions, Harmony Project, through performances and fundraising efforts, cleaned and refurbished Blackburn Recreation Center for After-School All-Stars, cleaned and mulched beds and playgrounds for Beatty Recreation Center, collected 4000+ toys and gift cards for children and teens in Central Ohio, collected 500+ bicycles for children and teens of Franklin County Children Services, adopted families through Center for Healthy Families and answered wish lists, cleaned Livingston Avenue, created public art murals on the South Side and in Franklinton, built teen study stations for Boys and Girls Club in Franklinton, planted 500+ trees, and was awarded the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Artistic Excellence Award for its One Neighborhood Project.

The Harmony Project is proposing a series of re-beautification projects called “One Week, One Neighborhood” that will include the Hilltop YMCA, Van Buren Family Shelter, King-Lincoln District, South Side, and North Side. The project will feature educational, service, and artistic components. Funding sought from Columbus City Council is ...

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