The OneCranston Initiative, now in its second year, announced another round of Community Building grants to three community projects on Aug. 1.

Led by its Community Building/Faces & Places Subcommittee, the Community Building grants program seeks to increase civic leadership in Cranston by supporting resident volunteers to improve their neighborhoods. The three projects awarded grants in amounts up to $1000 were:

Cranston West Alumni Association (CWAA), for increased inclusion and accessibility by adding four handicap companion seats at Cranston West’s new stadium.

Dutemple Elementary PTO, to enhance community engagement and beautification by establishing an annual cleanup of Dutemple McKenna Park and add several trash and recycling receptacles.

A group of neighbors in Edgewood who are organizing a do-it-yourself “Walk and Roll” audit of the condition and accessibility of Cranston’s neighborhood streets.

In seeking the funding, the applicants acknowledged the involvement of dozens of residents across the city, who have – in some cases – already devoted many hours to various efforts to improve the lives and many special places across the city.

“This is our second year awarding OneCranston Community Building grants and it’s great to see so many diverse neighborhood-based projects happening throughout our city. Cranston residents are creative, dedicated problem solvers who work together with their neighbors to make significant impacts in their communities,” said Kate Aubin, co-chair of the Community Building/Faces & Places Subcommittee. “The Community Building/Faces & Places Subcommittee is excited to see the long-term impact of these projects and award more community building grants in the future.”

OneCranston is a 10-year initiative designed to increase social cohesion in the city, where residents work to improve the well-being of all community members, fight exclusion and marginalization, create a sense of belonging, promote trust, and offer opportunities for upward mobility. Through its work, OneCranston encourages residents to become engaged in their communities and to collaborate and connect with one another as we work together to create a more equitable, economically vibrant, and thriving city.

Organized through the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Working Cities Challenge, Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP) is the local backbone organization, which is supported by a group of residents and other entities, including the city of Cranston, the Cranston Public Library, the Cranston YMCA and Roger Williams University.

In its work in the first two years, OneCranston has sponsored a class of residents who graduated from a 20-week Parent Leadership Training Institute; co-sponsored with the library two programs on best-selling book “The Hate You Give” and a community conversation of the documentary “American Creed”; issued an initial round of Community Building grants to five community projects; and worked with City Council members to re-establish the city’s Diversity Commission.

To learn more, please visit @OneCranston on Facebook or email Ayana Crichton, initiative director of OneCranston, at acrichton@comcap.org.