Community Renewal International will break ground on their newest Friendship House at 11 a.m. on Thursday, February 10. The groundbreaking will take place at 2320 Legardy Street. This first build is part of Phase 1 in a long-term commitment to the Martin Luther King neighborhood.
Community Renewal, in partnership with The Kansas City Southern Railway Company (KCS), is proud to provide a new Friendship House for the MLK Community. A corporate delegation from KCS, Shreveport Mayor Perkins, elected officials, and community leaders will join Community Renewal to break ground on our city’s newest Friendship House.
Friendship Houses are homes built in neighborhoods and lived in by CRI staff, offering a place of safety, education and hope. There are currently 10 Friendship Houses in 5 neighborhoods of Shreveport/Bossier including Allendale, Barksdale Annex, Cedar Grove, Highland, and Queensborough. This MLK home will be the 11th of its kind in our area; offering free afterschool activities for students, adult education, family events, and various activities for the MLK community. Community Renewal is committed to serve the residents of MLK and work alongside other caring partners in the MLK community. Community Renewal intentionally builds and grows positive caring relationships where every citizen can find a place to serve and make a positive difference.
“KCS is committed to being a positive corporate citizen in the communities through which our rail network operates and where our employees live and work,” said KCS President and CEO Pat Ottensmeyer. “KCS is very impressed with the work Community Renewal is doing in Shreveport, and we are proud to join in their efforts to strengthen neighborhoods, create solutions and be a bright spot in the community.”
“All of us are encouraged beyond words to have this high opportunity to partner together with The Kansas City Southern Railway Company and with the people of our historic MLK Neighborhood of the Cooper Road in advancing the cause of caring for one another. KCS is demonstrating that they not only serve all of our communities along their rails but they are stepping out to strengthen the very life of those communities as well. Our friends and neighbors join us in celebrating this great American corporation who illustrate what we know to be true: “Caring ALONE cannot heal our world, but caring TOGETHER can!” says CRI Founder & Coordinator Mack McCarter.
Attendees of the ground breaking will include Mack McCarter (Founder of Community Renewal International), Community Renewal International Staff, Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins, Local & State Elected Officials, Hon. John Dalton (Former Secretary of the U.S. Navy & Shreveport Native), KCS Corporate and Local Executives, Pat Ottensmeyer (President/CEO), and Carl Akins (AVP, Environmental & Hazmat).
