KSHB 41 reporter Caroline Hogan covers development across the Kansas City area. Share your story idea with Caroline.
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This is the second year the city of Kansas City, Missouri, is offering money to different areas through the Neighborhood Empowerment Grant.
KCMO Mayor Pro Tem Rayna Parks-Shaw said the idea came from working with neighborhoods that expressed how they wanted to make improvements.
Last year, the city awarded $200,000 to multiple communities.
This year, Parks-Shaw said around $600,000 will be given to 35 different communities around the city.
"I think people [are] really taking more pride in their properties and in their neighborhood, in addition to the fact that I think it’s really bringing the community together," Parks-Shaw said on the success of the grants.
The money comes from the city's budget and can be used any way the community deems necessary — from home repairs to investing in youth groups.
KCMO's Blue Valley neighborhood on the east side is focused on both.
"We have captains on blocks, and they can tell them if something needs to be cleaned up or if they need to go to the store or whatever," said Nancy Simons, executive director of the Blue Valley Neighborhood Association. "We want the youth to interact with the elderly so they know what’s going on."
Simons said they were awarded $10,000 to invest in a community garden and cleaning up Blue Valley Park.
"If we didn’t have this grant, we could not do maybe a fourth of what we’ve done," Simons said.
The Blue Valley community is applying for the grant again this year because they believe more work needs to be done.
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