2014 MANDI Awards | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
MANDIs celebrate ‘better future’ for Milwaukee neighborhoods
Winners of the Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innovation (MANDIs), awarded to organizations working to improve impoverished neighborhoods, were announced at a sold-out dinner.
Westlawn Gardens, which replaced half of the old Westlawn public housing complex, is a MANDI finalist for its unique design and environmental features. Though it’s been open less than a year, the project is changing how people view the city’s northwest side.
MANDI nominee United Methodist Children’s Services finds its calling working with low-income families.
Activist Jan Christensen says building a community is a long-term project. She is the community organizer in the Riverwest neighborhood.
Nearly a dozen renters have moved into foreclosed homes that are part of the Rent to Own Homes program in the Layton Boulevard West neighborhood. The project is a finalist for a MANDI.
Just One More Ministry, which “rescues” food from groceries and caterers, is moving into the city to be able to serve more meals to Milwaukee’s hungry.
Snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and animal tracking are just a few of the activities for students on winter field trips at the Milwaukee Rotary Centennial Arboretum, a MANDI finalist.
IndependenceFirst Mobility Store, which provides medical equipment for people with disabilities, is a finalist for a 2014 MANDI.
Finalists for the 2014 Milwaukee Awards for Neighborhood Development Innnovation, known as the “MANDIs,” were announced Wednesday evening to a crowded room of nominees, community leaders and corporate sponsors.
The “Northern Trust Navigator Award”
• Charles Brown, Journey House
• Jan Christenson, YMCA of Metro Milwaukee
• Howard Snyder, Northwest Side Community Development Corp.