[Cont. from page1] neighbors to the communities we serve.”

This is not the first time State Farm has supported the Initiative. State Farm Bank presented the Initiative with a $100,000 gift in 2006.

The press conference closed out a landmark funding year for the Initiative. Only a few months prior to the announcement, the North Carolina General Assembly increased the Initiative’s appropriation from $3 million to $5 million. Rasheed thanked the General Assembly for providing ongoing funding that allows the Initiative to leverage such investments. He also stressed that the announcement couldn’t have come at a better time.

“We are at a critical juncture in North
Carolina,” he said. “While many people
are prospering, so many others are not.Residents in communities throughout our

state need help. This generous investment will enable us to extend our own investment in low-resource neighborhoods across North Carolina. That’s what this is all about.”

While Rasheed noted that State Farm has a particular interest in affordable housing, there are no strings attached to the investment. Other potential uses for the money include commercial real estate and social enterprise projects.

Rasheed emphasized that a top priority for the Initiative in the coming years will be pursuing housing projects that include a strong environmental component.

“That’s the future, combining affordable housing with environmental protection, even in urban settings,” he said. “We must do a better job of taking care of our environment.”

In partnership with the Goldsboro-Wayne
branch of the NAACP and more than 20
local churches, Initiative grantee Rebuilding Broken Places (RBP) CDC has formed a coalition to address the mounting
violence in their community. Launched
last April, STOP the Funeral Unity
Revival began in response to the death of
a Goldsboro couple, who were shot and
killed within four days of each other.

President of the state’s NAACP chapter
and Board Chair of RBP CDC, Rev. Dr.
William J. Barber spoke about the revival.
"According to Luke 7, we must participate
in ways that deal with the reality of death
by choosing to act in ways that bring
hope and possibility.” Barber went on to
say, “the purpose of The STOP The
Funeral Unity Revival is to be a first step
in uniting the faith community and other
community-based groups in a common
agenda against violence and death."

Following the creation of a 12-step action
plan, the revival was set in motion on
May 12, 2007 with sixty days of prayer,
fasting and community prayer walks. The
schedule of events included numerous
revival services throughout the year and
culminated with the Corner-2-Corner
(C2C) Drug Dealer and Gang Member Redemption Conference in November.

The conference was an unprecedented
collaboration between RBP CDC, the
Goldsboro Police Department and the
Wayne County District Attorney’s Office.
For 3 days police officers stood down,
allowing even those with outstanding
warrants to attend without fear of arrest. As a result the event attracted 75 participants, offering workshops, speakers and an opportunity fair. After the conference, local officials committed to “work with [the participants] in any way that they legally could," according to RBP CDC Executive Director John Barnes.

For more information, please visit: http://theunityrevival.googlepages.com/