Virtually everyone living in Memphis knows what ails the city. In fact, the problems are so well-known, they’d be clichés if the stakes weren’t so high.
Poverty. Blight. Joblessness. Crime. Obesity and other poverty-related health concerns. Homelessness. Poor education outcomes for too many students. A weakened tax base. And a city budget so tight that it can’t afford to throw money at any of these issues, let alone all of them. Together, they seem intractable, and thus have created a seemingly inescapable vortex of despair and hopelessness.
What are the solutions? Perhaps these ARE clichés: More jobs! A higher minimum wage! Better training for high-tech, high paying careers! The problem with these “solutions” is that they ultimately require a virtually unlimited cash windfall from a benefactor, corporation or the government. And while we wait for that, hope dies a little bit more each day.
But what if throwing money at these problems isn’t the solution? What if defeating poverty and despair means raising the quality of life of Memphis’ poorest citizens while lowering their cost of living? What if a movement that crosses race and class lines brings people together to rebuild North Memphis — from the ground up? And what if the solutions we seek are literally right under our feet?
“What if?” is here. Welcome to the Abundant Earth Global CDC.
Abundant Earth Global CDC (AE), formerly known as the Frayser Community & Neighborhood Alliance, is a 501 c (3) charity based in Memphis, TN and currently services the North Memphis and Frayser areas. It is the brainchild of Ester B. Moore and Lee Eric Smith. AE was founded to strengthen these communities by helping individuals take root, grow and thrive in the fertile soil that lies all around us. We accomplish this with our 4 Cornerstones of Success – our initiatives that focuses on giving people nourishing food, a safe home that takes care of them, a sense of self-pride & a community that they want to come home to. Using those building blocks to build upon our individual unique neighborhoods, and the entire city, will not only survive but thrive!