Above: Sonja Smith poses with the 2009 Uptown Chili Cook-off trophy. Sonja’s winning recipe was a uniquely delicious “White Chicken Chili”. Congrats Sonja!
By: Shelley Thomas
Just around the corner from downtown Memphis, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the Harbor Town and Uptown neighborhoods, is an organization doing vital work throughout the community. Neighborhood Christian Centers, Inc. (NCC) has its roots in Uptown, as it opened its first office in the community more than thirty years ago. In 2004, NCC built a new facility at 785 Jackson Avenue, allowing the organization to come back home to Uptown.
NCC serves almost 100,000 people each year in almost every zip code but, because of the main facility’s location, Uptown is a special focus. Hundreds of area school children consider NCC a second home and the place to go after school and during the summer. These children, as well as many adults, are supported through educational tutoring, mentoring, college prep and assistance, arts/cultural activities, money management training, career training/placement and food/clothing/financial assistance.
In the late 1960’s, Monroe and JoeAnn Ballard began working with disadvantaged Memphis youth, eventually raising 75 children in their own home. With the involvement of concerned individuals and churches, the Ballards established NCC in 1978, with Dr. JoeAnn Ballard serving as Executive Director until last year, and Monroe Ballard serving as the Director of Operations until his death last year. The legacy of service continues as the Ballard’s eldest daughter, Ephie Ballard-Johnson, has taken the helm as NCC’s President and Chief Executive Officer. NCC continues to meet the needs of people from all walks of life, with a mission emphasis on children ages 0-3 to train parents and the community on the importance of brain development during the early years of life.
NCC began the Chicken Strut last year as a yearly fundraiser to benefit its annual Christmas Basket and Services, a program that provides chicken and other foods for more than 10,000 families in need each year. The Chicken Strut event will always be held the Saturday before Thanksgiving, with participants “strutting” right through the Uptown neighborhood. Your support is essential to make this event a success. Please come out this year on Saturday, November 21 with family, friends, co-workers, or your church group and line the course to cheer on the participants or join the Walk. You can join the 5K Walk or offer your financial support at www.ncclife.org or by picking up a brochure at 785 Jackson Avenue. All registered participants will receive a Chicken Strut t-shirt, a chicken snack, and a morning of fun activities to be enjoyed by all. Register by November 6th to receive special discounts!
By Charles Miller – Uptown Resident
Neighborhood safety starts with you, the Uptown resident. Listed below are three tips that can help improve the safety of our community. By following these three tips, Uptown can become one of the safest communities in the city of Memphis.
Stop
First and foremost, we must stop in our busy tracks and begin to focus on neighborhood safety. Let’s face it, we all live busy lives. For those of us with full time jobs and children, our extra time is often limited. However, unless we make up our minds to show concern for the safety of our community, nothing will change. Stop for a moment, and commit to supporting neighborhood safety in Uptown. It’s a decision you’ll never regret.
Look
Always be vigilant and aware of what’s taking place in your surrounding environment. Don’t be afraid to report suspicious people, behavior or cars to the Main Street Police Department (636-4099). Keep watch over your neighbor’s house in their absence. Get to know your neighbors and exchange phone numbers. The more eyes watching, the safer our neighborhood becomes!
Listen
Often times, we ignore the obvious signs of suspicious activity. For example, if dogs are barking late at night, this may be a warning signal. Always take a moment to check for anything out of the ordinary. If you hear gunfire or even loud obnoxious behavior, call the Main Street Police Department (636-4099) and report. Our ears can play a vital role in neighborhood safety. Don’t ignore the audible warning signals.
As a centerpiece of the Uptown Community, the Greenlaw Community Center has long been a hub of activity. Every afternoon, the facility becomes a destination for many of the children and teenagers in our community; a place to shoot hoops, play pool, video games, and a host of other activities. Yet, despite the heavy use of the facility, the Greenlaw Community Center recently became a target of budget cuts in city government, which threatened to close it down.
In stepped Memphis Athletic Ministries (MAM), a faith-based non-profit known for organizing athletic and community building activities for kids in our city. As part of a public-private partnership with the city of Memphis, MAM has entered into an agreement with the city to take over the management and operation of facility for the city of Memphis. This new arrangement will be initiated on November 1, 2009.
So, while the doors of the community center will be staying open, it’s no secret that the facility itself is in need of facelift. Detric Golden, who grew up in what is now known as Uptown, told us that the physical appearance of the facility looks exactly as it did years ago when he was just a kid playing basketball inside the facility. From the outside, the barracks style construction of the facility looks more like a jail than a community center, and the 1970’s inspired paint scheme isn’t a throwback—it’s actually from the 70’s! It’s definitely time for a change.
Detric, who went on to play professional basketball, has since returned to the Greenlaw Community Center to form Golden Child Ministries, and has now been hired by MAM to become the new Neighborhood Director at Greenlaw. Part of Detric’s new role as Neighborhood Director will be to implement some new programming and a new atmosphere at the community center. Detric envisions the center becoming a place where new and old Uptown residents can come together and participate in a new mix of events and activities. Plans are to offer aerobics classes, volleyball, basketball, as well as computer labs, financial literacy classes, and etiquette classes. 
To assist in giving the center a fresh start, plans are in the works for some structural changes to take place on the facility as well. The front entrance to the center will be enhanced with windows and an extended entry way that will include an Uptown inspired “front porch” area and courtyard. Inside, the facility will see new paint and a brand new, updated look.
As an already thriving center of activity in our community, MAM now looks to build on the successful aspects of the center while also addressing some of the obvious challenges that currently face the center. This is vitally important because our children deserve better than playing on a playground littered with trash and broken glass. They deserve to enter a community center where they feel safe and free from the influence of drugs and violence. This new partnership with MAM, led by Detric Golden, is a step in the right direction. But without adding another piece to this partnership, the success of the Greenlaw Community Center will be limited at best. That missing piece is found in the residents of Uptown. Together, our community must support and encourage the efforts of organizations like MAM who are working to make our community a better place to live.
Here are some simple ways to support the Greenlaw Center:
- Commit to become a tutor for just 30 minutes each month.
- Come speak to kids at the center about your profession.
- Become an “Ink and Paper” sponsor by purchasing printer ink and paper, which allows neighborhood children to complete homework assignments.
- Volunteer to teach an aerobics class once a week.
For more information, contact Detric Golden at: dgolden@mamsports.org or 644-2646
By: Tanja Mitchell
It’s never too late to get involved! From the time we wake up to get ready for work, to working all day and driving the parent taxi all afternoon, most of us have little time to think about volunteering for community projects. But busy schedules do not mean we have to write off community involvement completely. In thirty minutes or less, you can make a difference in the community:
- Take a garbage bag while walking through the neighborhood. Pick up any litter along the way. As a by-product, you can get some exercise built into your day.
- Attending meetings about YOUR community. One hour once a month is worth the investment in your community.
- Attend an Uptown event. All Uptown events are free to the public. MPD tells us that getting to know your neighbors is the best way to fight neighborhood crime.
- Put a potted plant on your front porch. When your home looks spruced up, it makes the whole neighborhood and the community to look better as well.
- Look for opportunities to give in your community. Become a member of the Uptown Community Association. Membership dues are only $15/single households, $25 family, and $50 for business per year. Membership dues help cover the costs of community events and the newsletter. Send dues to UCA – 534 N Second – Memphis, TN 38105.
- Report suspicious behavior by calling 545-COPS.
- Report code violations by calling 576-6500.
- Deliver newsletters – again, count it as your exercise for the day.
