Each Sunday, UUCW invites attendees to split their offerings between the church and a community nonprofit that is making a purposeful difference. The June/July Split the Plate partner is Ezeliel HOPE.
Ezekiel Community Development Corporation/ HOPE (Home Ownership, Partnership & Employment) grew out of MICAH (Milwaukee Inner-city Congregations Allied for Hope) and its desire to promote homeownership, create jobs and lead the way in rebuilding the city.
After building 16 homes and prior to dissolving MICAH’s original initiative, which was called Ezekiel, Don Utech, Rev. Willie Brisco, and Jim Gaillard—visionaries who met through MICAH’s Jobs and Economics initiative—asked if they could absorb the nonprofit and refocus its mission on rehabbing blighted and boarded up homes in Milwaukee’s central city.
Their mission is to
- Train individuals in the skilled trades
- Provide expanded opportunities for minority contractors
- Assist first-time homebuyers with purchasing properties
To date, Ezekiel has trained more than 400 individuals in the construction skilled trades, rehabbed 200 homes, and sold 20 homes to first-time homebuyers. To learn more, go to www.ezekielhope.org
To support Ezekiel HOPE, go to the UUCW website’s “Donate” tab and select “Split the Plate” from the menu provided. Or, you can text “UUCW” to 73256 or mail your donation to Unitarian Universalist Church West, 13001 W. North Ave., Brookfield, WI 53005.
