Vollintine Evergreen Community

Listings

Parties: Vollintine Evergreen Community

There is nothing better than hosting a group of friends for your next party at our studio. Inquire about times and dates for your next party by clicking the "Send Inquiry" button.

Camps: Vollintine Evergreen Community

Camps are a great way for kids to get introduced to the basics of art and drawing. Inquire about times and dates by clicking the "Send Inquiry" button.

Classes: Vollintine Evergreen Community

We offer a wide variety of classes for all different age groups. Classes are another excellent way to perfect your artistic skills. Inquire about times and dates for classes by clicking the "Send Inquiry" button.

Details

1680 Jackson Ave Memphis, TN 38107
(901) 276-1782
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Business Overview

The Vollintine Evergreen neighborhood is located in the north part of Midtown Memphis. Its boundaries are North Parkway on the south, Watkins Street on the west, Cypress Creek on the north, and Springdale Street and Rhodes College on the east. Within its boundaries are three city schools: Snowden School, Vollentine Elementary School, and Cypress Middle School. The neighborhood includes almost 12,000 residents in about 4,600 households. Vollintine Evergreen is a microcosm of the entire city of Memphis in many ways: racial makeup (58% black and 39% white), age distribution, median income, home ownership rate (56%), and employment rate. The History of VECA The Vollintine Evergreen Community Association (VECA) was founded in 1971 to increase communication in the biracial neighborhood that previously had no organization. VECA founded a newsletter, the Vollintine Evergreen News, which continues to be published to this day. It involved both whites and African Americans in decision making, committee membership and board membership. Regular meetings allowed all residents to have input into addressing issues of concern. Among the early issues tackled by VECA were code enforcement when landlords were not taking care of their properties, zoning issues to maintain the residential character of the neighborhood, and a national historic district to recognize the fabulous housing in the area. VECA was solely a volunteer, grassroots organization until 1995. In 1995 VECA received a large grant to rehabilitate housing, acquire a commercial center, purchase an abandoned railroad route that became the V&E Greenline, hire staff, open an office, develop block clubs, rezone the neighborhood to mostly single family zoning. Additionally, VECA acquired and rehabilitated two dilapidated apartment buildings, acquired and rehabilitated a shopping center, and eventually built new affordable housing using city and federal subsidies. The latter subsidized the costs to maintain an office and have staff. In 2009 economic conditions meant that VECA could no longer afford staff and it was transformed back into a volunteer driven organization. Volunteers became managers of the VECA owned apartments and houses which help provide funding for its central headquarters which was now called the Welcome Center. VECA volunteers continued working on a variety of grassroots issues. In 2010 VECA officially downsized and simplified its organization by merging the nonprofit and volunteer organizations which continue to retain its status as a IRS recognized 501(c)(3) status. VECA remains involved in a wide variety of activities that are supported by the neighborhood including code enforcement; safety and security issues; planting trees on the medians; managing the V&E Greenline; working on problems in the commercial districts; managing a website and email system; working to increase resident involvement; helping people through the Welcome Center; and supporting a number of very popular events in the neighborhood. VECA also works hard to recruit new volunteers and respond to the concerns of the residents. Its theme � "I am VECA, You are VECA, We are VECA together" � invites all residents to get involved in maintaining VECA as a quality residential neighborhood. Read more