Founder & Vice President, Community Visions Unlimited
When Jeannie Paddison Tidy moved into her neighborhood in Faubourg St. John, it was not a thing of beauty.
“At that time there were over 100 vacant, blighted properties in a four-by-five block area,” she says.
Moved to action, Tidy formed the non-profit Community Visions Unlimited (CVU).
“Within three years we had 75 renovations either underway or completed,” she says.
While still maintaining her day job as executive director of Lakeview Shepherd Center, a nonprofit senior enrichment center, Tidy has led the CVU to creating a 16 chapter how-to manual for neighborhoods to address blight.
“We are reworking this now to give an updated version that will be available to assist neighborhoods with everything from putting in a garden, to finding and working with blighted property owners, to how to become a 501c(3).”
While off to a strong start, Tidy says she still has a long to-do list.
“We want to raise enough money to hire staff and expand the program,” she says. “This would mean creating a resource center that would assist the neighborhood to not only survive, but to thrive. Helping people have vision for their area is an important part of reducing blight and replacing it with beauty.”
