HomeMy WebLinkAboutCover Letter 092123Cr 7BRATE !
MAYA PROJECT
To: Mr. Torrence Thrower, Development Specialist
Little Rock Planning Commission
From: Janis F. Kearney, President/Founde
Celebrate! Maya Project
RE: Cover Letter for site plan application for Celebrate! Maya Project - future
Dr. Maya Angelou House
Date: September 18, 2023
Thank you for this opportunity to share our plans for the property at 1722 Wolfe Street, in
the Central High School historic district. We purchased the currently uninhabitable James
Lewis house from the Little Rock Land Bank in November 2021, and are currently seeking
funds to help renovate the 2,788 sf, two-story space and create a "home" for the Maya
Angelou House and Celebrate! Maya Project Headquarters. The property sat dormant,
except as a gathering place for the homeless, for the last 20 years. Our goal is to transform
this almost 100 year old property into a thriving building — renovating the interior entirely,
and the exterior as close to its historical state as possible. This building will house youth
education and literacy programs, administrative office space, a Maya Angelou Museum and a
site for community conversations and forums.
We are excited about the opportunity to become a viable and contributing resident of the
historic Central High School district, with its rich history of the 1957 Central High School
integration crisis and the site of colleges, universities schools, churches and community
organizations. Our plans are to continue, and expand youth and community services,
including:
• Youth writing, literacy, history, poetry and art Workshops
• After school tutoring, mentoring and summer camps
• A computer lab/library for students needing a place for afterschool studies or use of
computers.
• A Dr. Maya Angelou photo and archives gallery, available to visitors and students to
learn more about this global icon.
Administrative office space for program administrators, interns, volunteers and visitors
• Outdoor public events space that hold up to 100 guests.
About the Celebrate! Maya Project: The Celebrate! Maya Project was established in
2014 after the death of Dr. Maya Angelou, iconic poet, author, educator and humanist
who spent much of her developmental years in Stamps, Arkansas. Shortly after her
Death in May 2014, I convened a small group of women to help create an organization
that would honor the memory, contributions and legacy of Mrs. Angelou through our
work with youth around the state of Arkansas --with a special focus on Arkansas'
poorest areas.
Celebrate! Maya Project was created to make a difference for Arkansas' children of
all cultures, backgrounds, ethnicities. We are fully vested in equity, diversity and
inclusion. We are also vested in reaching the whole child and working closely with
their "village" that nurtures them from infancy to adulthood. For the last nine
years, we have served youth throughout Arkansas through literacy, writing, poetry,
history, art and publishing projects. We have also held community forums, and
introduced youths to nationally and locally recognized artists, authors, historians,
musicians and poets.
Our Vision for 1722 Wolfe Street: Research tells us that COVID-19 Pandemic not only
impacted communities, families and children for the two-year duration of its most traumatic
era; but the ramifications of the pandemic will continue to impact children's educational,
social and health wellbeing, for the next several years. We believe there is a real need to
create programming and space that addresses the post-COVID needs of youths and
communities.
Based on this same research, we believe it is critical that schools, churches, communities
and nonprofits create programming that address children's ongoing learning and social
needs. In that vein, we seek to partner with children's "villages," which are critical to
helping youth regain the "Lost Years," of COVID.
In 2020, during the height of the Pandemic, Celebrate! Maya Project was selected to
participate in a one-year cohort of nonprofit organizations in the Little Rock area. This year-
long program was funded and implemented by ArtSpace, a national consulting organization
that works with small organizations around the country, imparting information and
resources to help small organizations work toward attaining their own space. CMP joined
12 other nonprofits in delving into our organization's needs and revisiting our mission.
Our decision to purchase property and begin plans to renovate and rehabilitate that property,
is part of our expanded vision for how we will continue to serve Arkansas youth. While we
have enjoyed amazing relationships and partnerships with schools, community organizations
and nonprofits around the state, that means our work is, to a great extent, dependent on use
of others' spaces based on availability. We realized that to be most impactful in helping
youth and their communities, we need our own space to deliver the kinds of services that
will be most intentional and long lasting.
Our plans for expanded and more intentional programming at the Maya House, located
within the Central High School Historic District, will include:
• Summer Camps
• After -School Tutoring and Mentoring
• Cross -generational forums and community conversations (interactions inclusive of
youth and seniors)
• public/community partnerships
• Presentations on Arkansas and Maya Angelou history for schools and visitors
• Educational partnerships (public schools, colleges and universities)
• public forums - book talks, Poetry Readings, history presentations, art and
photographic exhibits, Community Panel Discussions
The Celebrate! Maya Project subscribes to Dr. Angelou's words: When you learn,
Teach. When you get, Give. Her message of hope and resilience is the center piece of our
message for youth in Arkansas' rural and urban communities - where young people most
need to hear her story, and to see their reflections in her achievements.
As was chronicled in her memoir, / Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, her childhood was
rife with racial and social challenges. Yet, she found ways to rise above her surroundings,
and to help lift others as she rose. We want to help our youth realize these same successes in
life, and that same sense of humanity and responsibility to others.
Addendums Enclosed:
-Land Survev
-Bill of Assurance ordered — not arrived yet
-Site plan