Lift Orlando Inc

Housing: lift orlando's goal for mixed-income housing is to develop high-quality mixed-income homes that are affordable for residents and attract families back to the neighborhood. Lift orlando partnered to develop pendana, phase i of lift orlando's housing strategy, a mixed-income multifamily apartment community which opened in 2018. Lift continues to be actively engaged with the management company of pendana at west lakes to facilitate community engagement and desired outcomes in the community. In 2024, the housing team continued this work by exploring new opportunities to expand mixed-income housing in the surrounding area. In may of 2020, pendana senior residences (phase ii) started safely welcoming west lakes seniors age 62 and over. In 2024, lift orlando continued to work with partner columbia residential and seniors first to offer weekly activities for residents at pendana senior residences that provide physical and social support to seniors seeking activities that are beneficial to their mind, body, and spirit. Programming included games, movies, pictionary, puzzles, arts and crafts, guess the tune, crochet, gardening, education sessions, and weekly senior fitness classes from a local physical trainer, with bingo becoming a popular favorite. Lift orlando funded west lakes partnership (wlp) in their ongoing community beautification project. The west lakes residential paint and beautification program works to improve housing stock within the communities of west lakes and provides matching grants that support west lakes homeowners' beautification efforts. Seven homes in three neighborhoods were completed and nearly 20 residents were provided flowers to spruce up their homes in 2024. In partnership with the orlando housing authority and with support from the city of orlando, lift orlando was awarded the department of housing and urban development's (hud) fy23 choice neighborhoods planning grant. The two-year planning process began in late 2023 with pre-planning and the formation of required committees and working groups. In 2024, efforts focused on direct resident engagement to identify and document community priorities. Alongside oha, lift facilitated a range of activities including a door-to-door survey of public housing residents, a community data walk to review survey and market study findings, visioning meetings, design charrettes, and a youth engagement activity where students shared their housing and amenity preferences through drawings and lego models.

Community quarterback: as the community quarterback in west lakes' collective impact initiative, lift orlando helps to facilitate and coordinate open collaboration between residents, nonprofit partners, businesses, and community leaders, who are collectively working to strengthen the communities of west lakes, washington shores, johnson village, lake mann, and greater 32805 zip code. Lift orlando collaborated with and provided funding to west lakes partnership (wlp) to pursue projects that increase the wealth and well-being of west lakes residents. Alongside the residential paint & beautification program, community clean-up and dream housing rehab program, wlp issues "the west lakes newsletter", with 20,942 individuals opened and viewed e-newsletters and 5,250 physical newsletters delivered to residents in 2024. Lift orlando held a quarterly open house - a free, family-friendly event featuring food trucks, live music, games, and a resource fair with partners like the city of orlando, florida blue, west lakes partnership, and goodwill. The event offers residents a chance to connect with local organizations and services. Attendance grew over the year, with 184 residents in february, 231 in may, 388 in august, and 178 in december. Open house remains a resident-led initiative co-organized with the bunche manor hoa president and supported by lift orlando. Building on this spirit of community engagement, lift also hosted its first trunk-or-treat, drawing 419 children and adults, with 12 decorated trunks, games, and fall-themed activities. Launched in 2024, the lift together community grant program funds small, resident-led projects in the west lakes and 32805 community. Coordinated by lift orlando and guided by a resident-led selection committee, the program has received 39 applications and approved 10, awarding a total of $15,000. Grants ranging from $500 to $1,500 have supported projects like a holiday lights contest, block party, youth sports uniforms, stem programs, and a community storage shed. Also introduced in 2024, the greats of west lakes honors the neighborhood's legacy by showcasing portraits of influential community members. With support from lift orlando and west lakes partnership, hoa leaders nominated candidates, and five honorees were selected. They were celebrated at a june 14 event at the heart of west lakes wellness center, where their portraits were unveiled and are now displayed in the first-floor lobby. Interviews and write-ups are available online. Furthermore, to assess local impact, lift conducted a door-to-door community survey using the flourishing neighborhoods index, reaching over 600 residents (20% of the community), with 94% reporting satisfaction or neutrality about neighborhood changes. Additional surveys of lake mann homes and lorna doone apartments - conducted with ucf - achieved over 80% household participation across both sites. Polis institute supported lift's evaluation efforts by training local residents to carry out survey work and collect feedback on key issues like health, education, and economic well-being.

Health & wellness: lift orlando works to provide a mix of high-quality facilities, programs, and services that enhance health, quality of life, and increase overall life expectancy. Lift is the sponsor of the heart of west lakes wellness center, developed and operated by west lakes hwc, inc. The heart is a resident-focused center, designed to strengthen the community by providing convenient access to holistic health, financial, and lifestyle services under one roof. The two-story facility is a space for residents to connect, learn, and thrive, and features first-class amenities paired with decor that pays homage to the community's rich history. Additionally, the heart of west lakes wellness center served as an active hub of community activity and partnership programming, holding approximately 80 events that brought residents together and promoted access to health services, including those from community health center's onsite clinic. Through our partnership with florida blue, we offered weekly fitness classes, mental health sessions, a juneteenth 3k walk, and monthly mammogram and blood donation opportunities through oneblood. Furthermore, lift supported community engagement efforts such as the west lakes community clean-up, which facilitated two clean-up efforts in 2024. In 2024, lift resumed the interior build-out of the 1,900 sq. Ft. Financial wellbeing center, located on the first floor of the heart of west lakes wellness center. The team collaborated with project architects to update the design to meet current programming needs, including the addition of a podcast studio. Construction began in october 2024.

Economic viability: lift orlando's goal in economic viability is to stimulate the neighborhood economy through investments in employment and entrepreneurship programs that increase income levels for families. Lift orlando continued to work on providing one-on-one financial coaching to residents and families, small business engagement, networking events and marketing, business development services, resume assistance, as well as the research, data, and planning to support this work. Lift's small business institute (sbi) accelerator program, channeled small businesses into its framework, offering one-on-one business development, strategic planning, and subgrants while fostering long-term mentorship and connections. After receiving 51 applications and interviewing 44 candidates, 21 participants were selected. Over eight weeks, six subject-matter experts led sessions on business development, concluding with a pitch competition. All participants completed feedback surveys, giving the program an average rating of 4.89 out of 5. Survey results showed 100% would recommend the program, 93% reported increased business knowledge, and participants valued the networking, dynamic speakers, and collaborative learning environment. Additionally, lift orlando's long-term partnership with goodwill industries of central florida offers one-on-one individual and family financial coaching and support to 32805 residents. By december 2024, among the program's 56 members, 36% completed a budget, 41% increased a minimum of one benchmark goodwill industries' impact measurement platform, 71% of unbanked participants became banked or increased use of financial services product, and 29% increased savings with an average amount of savings increased by $4,961.