Valley Community Development Corporation to Sponsor its First Community Event on June 18
NORTHAMPTON—Valley Community Development Corporation (Valley CDC) will sponsor its first-ever community event for individuals and families, complete with food, games, activities and music, on Sunday, June 18 from 1 to 4 p.m. on the old courthouse lawn at 99 Main St.
Valley CDC is a nonprofit providing housing and financial education services that is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. It seeks to empower individuals with low and moderate incomes by developing or renovating buildings in the region to create affordable housing units; and providing financial education and small business assistance that leads to long-term economic stability.
Tenants of properties developed by Valley CDC will be invited to the free community event, and members of the general public are welcome to attend as well.
With catering from La Veracruzana, the event will also offer music and hula hooping by Hoop Joy of Amherst. There will also be a raffle for a $100 Stop & Shop gift card, and a separate tenants-only raffle for a free month of rent (up to $500); tenants must be present to win.
An arts and crafts project will direct adults and children to depict what home means to them.
In the next five years, Valley CDC is committed to growth. In 2016, it began comprehensive work outlined in a three- to five-year strategic plan. The vision is to increase Valley CDC’s geographic reach, create deeper community engagement, and assist more new homeowners as well as business owners.
The organization also aims to develop 209 new units of housing. Toward that end, Valley CDC will break ground in the fall on the 55-unit Lumberyard Apartments at the site of the former Northampton Lumber Company on Pleasant Street in Northampton. It is also a partner in a new project to develop 65 mixed-income rental units on the north side of Village Hill in Northampton and is collaborating with RDI, Inc. in an effort in Sunderland to create 34 affordable housing units for seniors. In Amherst, Valley CDC hopes to create the first-ever small efficiency apartments, and it hopes to renovate a 15-room single occupancy building it owns in downtown Northampton, creating 31 efficiency apartments.
For more information, visit valleycdc.com.
