The University Area Community Development Corporation has lofty expectations for its upcoming gala – to help fund a cultural campus that will serve as a navigational hub for residents.
The goal for the gala is 250 guests to raise $100,000. This year’s event, scheduled for Nov. 6, will take place outside, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at the University Area Community Park Pavilion, 14013 N. 22nd Street, Tampa.
A Masquerade Affair: Aladdin, “a beautiful Arabian Knights-themed evening in an outdoor kasbah,” runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., featuring a musical performance by BK Jackson, a silent auction, fire dancers, a dessert and candy bar and a martini bar with custom ice luge. There will also be cigars under the stars and a performance by Prodigy Cultural Arts Youth.
It is the CDC’s largest annual fundraiser.
“Each year, we designate a program or initiative that we are raising funds for and this year it is for the Cultural Campus,” said Jaree Ervin, the CDC’s chief development officer and a certified fundraising executive.
“The mission of the campus is to have one place residents can gather for our programming, such as the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program and our Get Moving Youth and Wellness Program.” Steps for Success, which assists people to reach their goals o self-sustainability or home ownership is also included.
There are about 25,000 residents in the University Area and the CDC provided services in 2020 to more than 11,000 of them, Ervin said.
“We have residents that participate in various ways. It’s a holistic roadmap,” she said. More than 4,200 residents participated last year in the Get Moving, Mind, Body and Soul program, there are free karate classes or youngsters, the lab, which is basketball fundamentals, as well as youth soccer, football and cheerleading and free yoga classes. There is also an adult fitness boot camp twice weekly.
The Harvest Hope Cultural Campus will go up in four phases, the first of which has already been complete for land acquisition. The CDC decided on this project when it was determined through data that residents in the area are challenged with a lack of education, unemployment, language barriers, inadequate health care and inadequate transportation.
The second phase will include renovation of an existing warehouse. “We anticipate changing the trajectory of growth in a neighborhood that has been plagued with poverty and subpar conditions for decades,” the CDC brochure states. “By strengthening this community and potentially transforming the current system to support marginalized communities and people of color, we will be able to begin to close the disparity gap.”
The third phase for the cultural center is build-out of the inside of the warehouse. The fourth phase will include office space and co-working space, a health center, immigration services, legal services and a program for attainable housing.
Some 32% of area residents never completed high school and unemployment is almost twice that of the county. Just 51% in the community speaks English “not well” or “not at all.” And according to the CDC, an infant in this area is twice as likely to die during the first year of life than in any other area of Florida.
While 7% of Hillsborough County residents have no vehicle, that number rises to 22% in the University Area.
So, the Cultural Center is designed to provide better outcomes for the community, including affordable housing, healthy environments and equitable transportation. “We are meeting the need of residents, including communities of color and reducing racial disparities taking into account the past history as well as the changing current conditions of the University Uptown District,” it states in the upcoming brochure.
The University Area, which is being transformed into the Uptown District, has a goal of establishing the community as a global thought leader by luring businesses to the area in fields such as cancer research and treatment, applied engineering and cybersecurity.
“Our goal is to make sure the residents in the community have space and place to provide equitable opportunities for all to empower the community residents,” the CDC brochure states.
The University Area CDC partners with Hillsborough County, its largest supporter, and other organizations to assist the community. Those partners include private donors such as those who will attend the gala Nov. 6.
“Normally, we have 300-400 guests at the gala, but this year we are limiting the number to 250 and moving it outdoors” due to the pandemic, Ervin said. Purchase tickets online. They are $125 for individuals, $250 for couples and $1,000 for a corporate table. It is a black-tie optional affair.
The CDC’s goal is to complete the $9 million cultural center by 2026.