Chef Space, a Community Ventures kitchen incubator, wanted to find a simple way to help the community. They started by collecting food for residents when COVID-19 was at its peak. This summer, once they learned students were going back to school in person, they decided to help them with the supplies they needed for the school year. While backpacks may not have been a necessity last year with kids at home, they are now.

When Carmella Selifis started kindergarten this August, she was ready. She knew how to recognize her name. She knew how to stand in line. She had listened to The Very Hungry Caterpillar and had seen caterpillars turn to butterflies in real life. "She was fully ready and excited," says her mother, Karly Kumo Selifis. 

Middle neighborhoods – those neighborhoods caught between growth and decline – were first developed to provide modestly priced homes to the growing middle class. "Middle neighborhoods provided families with the opportunity to own a home, build community and realize the American Dream," explains Paul Singh, NeighborWorks America's vice president for community initiatives. But many middle neighborhoods are facing serious challenges. Housing stock is aging.

​The cucumbers are ready, dangling on the vines at Splitlog Farm and Orchard, an urban farm that is a partnership between Community Housing of Wyandotte County (CHWC) and KC Healthy Kids. On raised beds, the property produces the cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, cherries and more. An apiary is also on site.

As the new school year begins, education leaders are making sure their students are prepared. For some, that means assessing the students in math, reading and more. It may mean making sure they're equipped with backpacks and paper. It may mean restocking food pantries.

Every little bit helps. Leaders at Aeon, a NeighborWorks network organization in Minnesota, know this, which is why they focus on small ways, along with the big, to improve energy efficiency and sustainability. Their residents see the difference. Staff members work with partnering organizations to do free energy audits for their buildings.

The link between housing and health care has been getting national recognition over the past few years. And it's become a focus for Community Housing Partners (CHP) in Christiansburg, Virginia.

NeighborWorks America welcomed eight new affiliates to its robust network, adding both capacity and expertise. This brings the number of NeighborWorks network organizations, located in every state, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., to 247.

When Billy Palmer received the Dorothy Richardson Award for Resident Leadership in 2015, he was a board member for NeighborWorks Salt Lake and chairman of the organization’s YouthWorks committee. Palmer had been involved with the program since he was 16, when he went to court for noncompliance.