SPOTLIGHT

The T. Boone Pickens Foundation focuses grants to organizations that operate in its core giving categories (see “About TBPF”). The current partner spotlight is the Jubilee Park and Community Center Corporation (JPCCC), a volunteer-driven organization whose mission is to be a “catalyst for community renewal and enrichment” in an inner-city Dallas neighborhood.

An army of volunteers from all denominations supports a small staff and active resident and business associations at the JPCCC, originally established in 1997 at the 50th anniversary of the Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. This team has worked very effectively with the City of Dallas, the Dallas Independent School District, and other non-profit organizations. Almost 99 percent of the funds Jubilee has spent to date come from private donations by individuals and foundations.

A $6 million donation from the Pickens Foundation, its first major gift toward distressed inner-city neighborhoods, will fund a comprehensive revitalization strategy touching on education, crime, housing, employment and community services, and be used for land purchase and the construction of community and park facilities. The gift was commemorated with a bulldozing of a nightclub, which is across the street from a kindergarten and has been a hot spot for criminal activity.

“It is my hope that this gift will empower this neighborhood to continue to strive for excellence,” Pickens says. “This money isn't just putting a band aid on the problem — it will be used for programs that make the streets safer, the schools better, and to provide services that will give these families skills to improve their quality of life today, and for the next generations.”

Jubilee Park already has used donated funds to make strategic land purchases, including the purchase of the bulldozed nightclub, located across the street from David's Place, a Head Start preschool program serving this underprivileged community. Plans include construction of a Resource Center that will provide much needed services like a Community Prosecutor and a City of Dallas Police Station, which will provide service to Jubilee Park and surrounding areas.

“Many of these residents don't have an abundance of resources, but they have will, and a dream,” says Walt Humann, chairman of the Jubilee Project community development organization. “And now, through the generosity of Mr. Pickens, and the work of residents, volunteers, the City of Dallas and DISD — that dream is much closer to becoming a reality.”

For more information about Jubilee Park and Community Center Corporation, call 214-887-1364 or visit www.jubileecenter.org.