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Capital Campaign

Project Goal: $3.25 million

Our goal is to raise $3.25 million and to fully fund the Harambee Community Center. As of October 2007 we have received commitments of $3.23 million.  We only need another $17,000 to reach our goal!

To make a pledge, simply download the pledge card and mail your gift to Urban Concern at 1000 Bonham Avenue, Columbus, OH 43211.

Major Funders

Urban Concern and Harambee Christian School would like to thank the many supporters who contributed to this project. We are grateful to all who made the Harambee Community Center a reality. In particular, we would like to thank the following organizations and individuals:

Harambee Community Center: The Need

In order to sustain and expand our efforts to transform South Linden at a grassroots level, Urban Concern and Harambee Christian School proposed a $3.25 million capital campaign to provide a multi-use community center and school facility.

Urban Concern needed a single, expandable base of operation to replace its inadequate, scattered buildings. A new facility allows for better coordination of efforts within the school and between Urban Concern programs.  It further allows more efficient delivery of services and provides a safer learning environment for Harambee students. With such a facility, we are more effectively preparing students for leadership in South Linden, which is our primary mission.

In the fall of 2005, Columbus City Council unanimously approved the sale of an abandoned police substation on Bonham Avenue to Urban Concern (the site is shown  to the right).  The property was vacant for several years, creating an eyesore for local residents. While its primary use is for the school, the Harambee Community Center is a multi-use facility. It provides office space for Urban Concern, as well as program space and a resource center for families of the community. Such a facility supports the holistic approach of Urban Concern to meet student and community needs.

Before, Urban Concern programs and the Harambee Christian School were scattered in several buildings around the community (see map below). The primary educational facility was housed in a renovated laundry. The laundry building was undersized and ill equipped as an educational facility. Half of the classrooms had no windows. There was no library inside the K-3  building or space for physical education classes inside or nearby either building. The 4th-5th grade classrooms were located in a renovated home that sat several blocks away from the K-3 building, physical education classes, and the principal’s office.

Students attended physical education classes at the city recreation center, requiring transportation by car; and they had to walk to another renovated house to use the library. Clearly such an arrangement was most inconvenient and inefficient, negatively impacting academics and safety. Furthermore, a lack of adequate parking caused congestion and dangerous conditions when parents picked up and dropped off children. 

Today, the Harambee Community Center provides a visible life center for South Linden. Its presence inspires hope and community pride, as well as enthusiasm about community involvement and leadership. All of the programs housed in this great facility give the people of South Linden a vision for the future, sparking a new generation of leadership and a spirit of cooperation and volunteerism.

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