UACDC a 'Nonprofit of the Year'

The University Area Community Development Corporation exists not for recognition but because of what they see as a void in the community. Still, it must feel good to bask in the glow of being named Nonprofit of the Year in the Public and Societal Benefit category by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

“We’ve very proud of it,” UACDC Executive Director and CEO Julian Garcia, Jr. told Patch. “We think it’s an award given by an organization that’s put a lot of effort into researching this. … We are very proud of the work that we do.”

Winners were announced last week in seven different categories.

The UACDC, which was founded in 1998 and currently has 33 employees, has a mission “to obtain the necessary resources, support and direction to improve public safety and sustain a thriving community where great social, financial, educational and health-related challenges exist.”

The nonprofit operates the Community Center Complex on 22nd Street, but it was also “instrumental in bringing three schools, a community center (and) a health center” to the much-improved University area, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Many public-private partnership initiatives have been spearheaded by the UACDC, addressing issues including affordable housing, after-school care and foster children.

For more information about the UACDC, go to http://uacdconline.org/