EQC created the 2005 Sustainable Community Earth Day Awards to recognize community initiatives that support job growth, environmental stewardship and social equity-the three pillars of sustainability. Kentuckians are coming to understand that the environment can no longer be separate from the economy. Our economic health is directly linked to the health of the environment. Each is mutually reinforcing and interdependent to our well being and quality of life.
"The Concerned Citizens of Russellville was created in 1994, after crime and violence threatened the very fabric of their community," commented EQC Commissioner Patty Wallace. These leaders understood that sustainability means more than just providing jobs. To be sustainable, a community must not only generate economic growth, it must be fair and equitable, empowering people rather than marginalizing them and giving people a sense of worth and place in their communities. Sustainability must include a process of collective decision-making and address issues of social inequality as well as ecological degradation.
In Russellville, a building now serves as a symbol of a community's fight to improve quality of life for all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income. The K.P. building is rich in history and is on the National Register. It has been used for many purposes in the African-American Community. K.P. Hall was built more than 80 years ago but fell into disrepair, like many old buildings in urban neighborhoods.
The Concerned Citizens of Russellville and Logan County, however, recognized the historic value of the K.P. building along with the role it could play in supporting a more livable community. The group secured a development block grant, and the K.P. Hall was upgraded with new electric, plumbing, heating and cooling, and a new roof.
The Concerned Citizens now use the building to enhance the quality of life for the youth of Russellville by providing a clean and safe environment. The group sponsors dances, movies and a wide range of educational events. The Concerned Citizens have worked to instill an appreciation of our natural environment through outings to Wild Cat Hollow for children of the community, many of whom had never been camping before.
The Concerned Citizens Youth Group has also worked to beautify Russellville by picking up trash. But most important, the Concerned Citizens have made the K.P. Hall an important center for education and civic engagement by sustaining this special place as a symbol of the community's pride and heritage.
Post a Comment
