52 Andrew Street, 1st Floor, Lynn, MA 01901 (p/f) 781-599-1269
May 1, 2007
Eric Seaborn,
Urban Forestry Program
251 Causeway St., 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02114
Dear Mr. Seaborn:
SCI Lynn, a program of the 501(c) (3) nonprofit Social Capital Inc., is in partnership with the City of Lynn Health Division and Communities that Care, is please to support David Gass’ project to plant trees in the Highlands / Union St. area of Downtown Lynn. Supporting this tree planting project reinforces SCI Lynn’s beautification campaign theme, “Lynn – Show the Beauty Within.”
The Highlands Tree Project’s goal is to plant 44 trees along Rockaway, Joyce, Union, and Green streets. This corridor is the main entrance to the Highlands neighborhood. The Union Street business district is traversed by thousands of cars daily and is a major shopping district for the primarily Hispanic, African, Cambodian, African-American population.
We support this community effort of planting new trees which will symbolize the re-birth of the area and inspire residents to re-claim their neighborhood from decay, youth gangs, and neglect. We expect homeowners to repair the facades of their homes and will ask the Lynn Housing and Neighborhood Development (LHAND) to restore a grant program for these repairs.
This project will increase neighborhood civic engagements and allow neighbors to join in and participate in the community efforts. SCI Lynn supports this project because it ties in with the SCI mission to strengthen the community by uniting diverse individuals and groups through civic engagement initiatives. Social capital refers to the value of a citizen’s participation in community life and their relationships with one another.
Thank you for your consideration of this letter of support. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Sincerely,
Trang Le, Program Coordinator
SCI Lynn
SCI Lynn is in partnership with the City of Lynn Health Division & Communities That Care