In 2020 Northeast Transportation Connections (NETC) continued its well-respected outreach to the diverse neighborhoods of northeast Denver.
• In 2020 Walk2Connect served approximately 180 folks from the community with boxes with perishable food staples and hygiene items
• Our Walking School Bus provided safe, healthy alternatives to get children to school and reduced the number of cars going to Swansea Elementary
• We distributed free monthly RTD passes to residents
Since its inception in 2004, the be well Health and Wellness Initiative has strived to “advance equitable policies, programs and research by building the capacity of residents to advocate for the tools and resources they need to lead healthy lives and reduce the spread of health disparities.”
“My whole personal world turned upside down. I thank God for be well because be well kept me engaged. be well kept me from thinking about myself. be well kept me saying, “It's not about you.” So be well kept me engaged to the point that I forgot about myself and concentrated on others.”
~ be well Volunteer
In 2020, a year like few others, The Foundation worked with Central Park area schools to adjust to the severe limits from the world crisis brought on by COVID.
At the start of the year, we were developing student teams to devise ways to combat climate change. We initiated plans for more outreach and support to area nonprofits to advance their work.
When the pandemic and its restrictions took hold, we switched gears. We had to address new needs such as helping students stay on task with remote instruction and not lose learning ground. We gave financial assistance to students and their families whose incomes ceased and found ways to have classes outdoors.
The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities (FSUC; The Foundation) is a nonprofit established in 1990 to craft the Stapleton Redevelopment Plan.
The Foundation now works on the plan’s social and environmental goals by establishing a seamless connection of economic, social and sustainable development with northeast Denver and northwest Aurora neighborhoods.
2020 ANNUAL REPORT
BUILDING COMMUNITY
FOR THE FUTURE
FSUC 2020 ANNUAL REPORT
Message from Tammi Holloway, CEO
The year 2020 will undoubtedly hit the history books as one like few others due to the emergence and impact of COVID-19.
With the eradication of polio and smallpox, and our successful mitigation efforts with seasonal flu, I struggle to think of any pathogen that has attacked our immune systems in such a paralyzing way. It showed how vulnerable we are, regardless of where we live.
Just think, the only difference between a COVID-19 patient in the Central Park neighborhood and one with COVID-19 in California or France was the body’s response to the virus and medical treatment provided or available. COVID-19 was just as deadly no matter the location.
We know and continue to struggle with socio-economic and racial disparities with COVID-19 treatment. We also know that these disparities affect education, housing and income stability and access to transportation. This is why our work continues to be so important.
Our response to COVID-19 changed our normal course of business. With the closing of our office, we delivered programming and services from an outside command center -- we delivered in the communities we serve. Outdoor classrooms, pop-up vaccine clinics, learning pods for low-income students, shuttle rides to grocery stores and providing personal protective equipment (the now familiar, PPE) to the communities we serve became synonymous with our name. Pivoting also became a word used to describe our Foundation. Covid-19 altered our response and delivery but our commitment to health and wellness, education, sustainability and housing stability remained, and in some instances, increased our outreach.
Covid-19 did not go away, and neither are we. As our communities move past 2020 and converge on a new normal, we will be right there with them. We will continue our work and continue to look for opportunities to partner.
As we continue to overcome the many challenges of 2020, I am reminded of wise words from children’s rights activist, Marian Wright Edelman:
“If you don’t like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time.”
Sincerely,
Tammi Holloway
CEO, Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities
The Foundation focuses on four initiatives:
Healthy Living: Advancing equitable policies, programs and research by building the capacity of residents to advocate for the resources they need for healthy lives and to reduce the spread of health disparities.
Transportation: Working with neighborhoods to reduce the number of single-occupant vehicles by providing access to alternative modes of transportation and other support that will help people live healthy,
active lives.
Lifelong Learning: Providing leadership, funding and collaboration to schools and the greater community to advance student achievement, quality of instruction, advocacy and educational opportunities for all.
Housing: Leading opportunities for families to reside in safe, affordable housing in Stapleton communities that meet social needs and provide economic opportunity.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
The Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities was founded in 1990 by beloved Denver oilman/philanthropist Sam Gary. (Original name of Stapleton Foundation was dropped in 2018.) Its mission was to write the redevelopment plan for Stapleton, the city’s former airport that closed in 1995 when Denver International Airport opened. At 4,700 acres, it is the largest infill development in the country.
The plan, now known as the Green Book, called for a New Urbanism project of mixed use residential, commercial, retail, office and open space. Along with the physical transformation, the plan promotes a social agenda to nurture lifelong learning, sustainable and healthy living, alternative transportation and affordable housing at Stapleton and in the greater Northeast Denver/Northwest Aurora communities.
The Foundation is the catalyst, with the community and the master developer to advance the Green Book’s agenda. Development work began in 2000 to convert Stapleton into what is now home to nearly 30,000 residents. The Foundation, working with the city of Denver, chose Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises (now the Forest City Realty Trust, Inc) as the master developer for the project.
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