Go, So the Next Generation Will Know
Service Project
Service Project 2024 will go towards The Villages at Roll Hill Community Center
The Villages at Roll is a community on the West side of Cincinnati, in East Westwood. It is the 10th poorest zip code of the 1,000 zip codes in the State of Ohio. This zip code is 45225, and the average family makes $14,000 or less per year. The Villages at Roll Hill houses 704 families (3,000 people) on eighty acres of land. Mainly, the head of households are African American women ages 18 – 25. The community also has single fathers, two parent households and 200 seniors.
The Community center is the only location at the present time that provides 28 programs for the entire family. Just to mention a few, they offer Girls Life Skills, GED classes, St. Xavier’s Big Brother’s program, small onsite food pantry, Teenagers and Adults photo classes (on Safe proofing our community), and annual health fairs. Programs for all ages
are also available throughout the summer to include religious programs led by the Navigators, educational initiatives, and recreational activities with weekly field trips for June – August.
Ms. Lisa Hyde-Miller also known as “Mama Lisa” has been the Service Coordinator since September 21, 1998. She is the only staff with volunteers from residents and local partners to include the Navigators and Rising Leaders. She typically works 9–12-hour days during the week but these long hours do not phase her because her love and passion for this community flows from her deep relationship with Jesus.
The Cincinnati Inquirer put it this way,
To residents at the Villages, Hyde-Miller is much more than a community relations coordinator. She’s a provider, mother figure, mentor, friend, teacher, confidant, and discipline supplier.
She takes residents without a car to the grocery store. She writes grants and finds community sponsors. She plays sports with the young ones.
“She’s funny, loving, energetic, and she loves helping people,” said Laura Ware, a resident and friend who has known Hyde-Miller for 14 years. “She knows what she’s doing.”
Ms. Lisa Hyde-Miller sends a heartfelt thanks and is truly grateful to receive the toiletry care packages to bless the residents in need.
