As the NHabit Bush Hills team begins to plan for the 2016 MLK Day of Service, we reflect back on our previous project. On January 19, 2015, the National Society of Black Engineers, Birmingham Urban League Young Professionals, the Birmingham Change Fund and members of the Bush Hills neighborhood association honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by offering their expertise in strategic planning, project management and technology in support of the NHabit Bush Hills project. In addition, participants also helped to canvas the neighborhood to identify and photograph vacant and abandoned properties. We are humbled and grateful for their contributions. Special thanks to Roald Hazelhoff and Birmingham-Southern College’s Southern Environmental Center for hosting us. If you are interested in donating your time, talent or treasure in 2016, please let us know.
Below are some photos of the 2015 MLK Day of Service.
Dr. Hood and his wife Robin live in the Bush Hills neighborhood. In 2014, they were winners of a Community Health Innovation Award of the UAB Center for Clinical and Translational Science for NHabit, a social entrepreneurial startup aimed at improving the health of their community by addressing the problem of vacant and abandoned property. Specifically, they are applying the principles of strategy and entrepreneurship to create a repeatable and scalable model for monitoring blight, occupancy and other conditions indicative of community health. Their efforts were recently highlighted by WBRC Fox 6 News as well as in the following articles: Building on an Idea and Local and global outreach land UAB on president’s community service honor roll.
