The History of the Uffizi Mission Partnership with The Village Apartments

My family moved to the West Side in April 2006.  Through various connections, one day I visited the Village Apartments to have a meeting with the executive director and hear about the work of the Turner Foundation.  The Turner Foundation purchased this apartment complex on the West Side, 70 units, for the expressed purpose of blessing the West Side and making it a safe place to live.  We share the same passion – to express the love of God for people in real tangible ways.  You can read about the Village Apartments at http://www.theturnerfoundation.com/the-village.htm.

Again, there are ways for you to partner with us in the work of God on the West Side.  We are now working on a plan of community health development as well.  This means we are working to develop a leadership community within the apartments, who will care for their own needs and multiply the effort throughout the West Side.

The Village has a community center, open Monday-Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 3-7pm.  This is a great way to befriend families here.  It is also a great way for you to enter the lifeblood of the culture.

If you want to know more, send me an email and we can set up a time to meet down at the Village.

What happens at the Village?

*Kids Club - we have started a kids club at the Village apartments, Thursdays at 4:30-6:00pm.  Kids Club is for kids between the ages of preschool and 5th grade.

*Young Life – we have also recently started a JH group for older kids, primarily grades 6th-8th grade!  They meet at 7pm on Thursdays at the Village.

*Village Apartments Bible Study – we meet at 7pm on Wednesday nights in Apt #55 here at the Village.  We have child care for residents who come to the meeting.

*Community Health Empowerment – beginning in the fall of 2010 we will start up an empowerment committee for the West Side.  Contact me if you are interested in helping the residents here empower themselves to bring “shalom” to the lower West Side.

*Tutoring – we started a tutoring center at the Village Apartments.  We are taking a break during the summer of 2010, but will restart in the fall.  We are always looking for tutors.  We have a library connected with our tutoring center as well, and we can always use new books if you want to help stock our library.

*West Side Kids Council – On Monday nights at 5pm, a group of students who live at the Village meet to take leadership for the community.  We can always use more friends to help mentor and support this group of young people.

Carrillo Apartments

We are excited to begin caring for our neighbors at the Carrillo Apartments – which is right next door to the Village.

This Summer we will begin establishing relationships with a whole new West Side Community!

Let me know if you want to help create this new initiative!