Grant Stories: The University Heights Center

Serving as a home for dance classes, workshops, community meetings, gardening, and one of Seattle’s biggest farmer’s markets, the University Heights Center (UHeights) is finding new ways to support their community in the midst of COVID-19. A haven for artists and activists alike, while in-person events are postponed, the UHeights team is continuing to support and enrich their community in a variety of ways. 

For resident organizations facing the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, The University Heights Center is working to help mitigate these challenges by rapidly mobilizing rent and utility relief.

In addition to these financial needs, the Center has opened their space for essential services like childcare, Northwest Share’s Free Vegetarian Food Truck, and the Seattle Street Sink. They are also serving as a site for a hygiene station and mobile shower station, two initiatives opened up by the City of Seattle to provide clean running water and restrooms to the unsheltered. 

Finally, UHeights continues to identify ways to engage and connect with their community by directing most of their programming to an online format. Zumba and Bollywood dance classes, poetry readings, theatre productions and discussion groups are now broadcast via live stream. 

The University Heights Center has long been an organization that not only supports its community, but invests in it. They connect, listen, and help their most vulnerable neighbors, strengthening the community center in the process. Their tireless dedication to the City of Seattle underscores their mission to promote life-long learning, culture, and creativity. We are encouraged by their innovation and grateful for their commitment to their city, championed by their mission to promote life-long learning, creativity, and activism.

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