Lakewood CDC and Lakewood residents are inviting you to join them as they begin to share with other families and neighborhoods in northwest Charlotte how their small community made such important changes. They now know that every person can access ever present innate wisdom which can lead to truly sustainable change and that such change radiates throughout families and communities creating safer, more peaceful, more productive lives. They want to share this experience with others. They want to share this experience with you. Join us in community workshops. Join us in learning from our children by being present when they work through their homework. Feel the happiness and joy at one of our community gatherings. In short, "Come grow with us."
We also need your financial support. Our excitement motivates us but it is your contribution that will make sharing our successes possible. Thank you! In an effort to address storm water and substandard housing issues, Lakewood Community Development Corporation (Lakewood CDC) was formed in 1991. In the intervening 20 years Lakewood has become a neighborhood where its residents are proud to live and are especially proud to welcome you. They want you to see the 132 new or completely remodeled homes and apartments. They want to point out curbs, sidewalks and our neighborhood park. They want to take you into our five-star full-school-day preschool serving infants up to Pre-Kindergarten, built entirely by volunteers coordinated by Habitat for Humanity.
But most of all they want you to experience their spirit of community, the sense of trust and appreciation for neighbors, the feeling of belonging to a larger family more than just a place on a map. They'd like to tell you how their children feel confident and are doing well in school and looking forward to college. Yes, you are "Welcome to Lakewood."
In 1986 a bold experiment in mission outreach, Strategies to Elevate People, began in what was then considered by many to be Charlotte's most abandoned and crime ridden area. Myers Park Baptist Church and Faith Memorial Baptist Church partnered to bring caring people together with children and families who often felt hopelessly trapped living in Lakewood.