By Brian Denitzio

On Columbia Point, all the ingredients were already in place. Beautiful harbor views alongside institutions such as The Boston Globe, JFK Library, UMass-Boston, and Corcoran Jennison to name a few. Nestled among these resources was the diverse and vibrant Harbor Point Community. For years, the only thing missing was something that would stir things up and bring together all the elements already present on the Point.

The straw that would stir the drink arrived in early 2001. The Columbia Point Community Partnership (CPCP), a non-profit organization, was created in order to according to its mission, "connect the people who live, work, and learn at Columbia Point with one another."

"We want the people of Columbia Point to feel the same sense of community pride felt in other Boston neighborhoods," said Audrey Morgenbesser, Executive Director of the CPCP. "We feel that this community has the same economic and social vitality as any other Boston neighborhood."

The CPCP consists of two full-time workers, Morgenbesser and Moira Convey, backed by a board comprised of volunteer members. The board draws upon local businesses and organizations, as well as the Harbor Point Community, for its membership.

As indicated by its mission the work done by the CPCP is both small and large in scope, all guided by one over-arching principle: bringing a sense of cohesion and community to Columbia Point.

"What the CPCP has done is bring everyone together, and that just wasn't there before," said Molly Dunford, a Dorchester coordinator for the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services. Dunford believes that Columbia Point previously failed to capitalize upon its vast resources because all of its organizations were pulling in different directions, and lacked unified goals.

According to the CPCP, what was missing was a feeling of unity among the various entities on the point. The residents of Harbor Point, the students and workers who came to the Point each day, and the local businesses and organizations were all mutually exclusive groups according to the CPCP. The lack of community centers is one reason for this division, according to Morgenbesser. She notes the lack of shops or restaurants on Columbia Point, missing amenities that could serve as places for groups to meet and learn about each other. "The question is, how can we create a sense of community, and places for community to take place?" said Morgenbesser.

The CPCP brought all the various constituent groups on the Point together for a unified planning session last September. The "Visioning Session," held at JFK Library, took input from residents and other groups on the point and created a list of concerns, as well as hopes for the Point. The groups outlined long-term goals for the Point, and how the CPCP could help reach them.

"The big thing is that they put the focus on the community and tying institutions together, making a big effort to have a community feel for the people there," said Dun ford.

One way that the CPCP works to achieve its long-term goals is through smaller, short-term initiatives. Recently the CPCP has worked on beautification projects along Mt. Vernon Street. In the immediate future the CPCP will work to refurbish the McCormick School basketball court, as well as on a major public arts project.

"The emphasis of their [the CPCP's] mission is on the people who live in the Harbor Point Community," said Dunford.

Such emphasis is apparent in one of the organization's most important initiatives, the Columbia Point Individual Development Account Program (CPIDA). This program seeks to help low-income families, specifically from the Harbor Point Community, build assets. Key parts of the program are money management workshops as well as a savings incentive program.

The CPIDA began in early 2001 with seed money from local institutions. Each year the program accepts ten new participants. According to Morgenbesser, two classes have finished the program, and to date six have used their funds to purchase homes or pay for education for themselves or their children. A new class is set to begin the program soon.

Another important program focusing on the Harbor Point Community is the push for increased voter turnout. With Election Day approaching, the CPCP has gone door-to-door, and fired off phone calls to remind residents to get out and vote - a key avenue to empowering the area.

"Getting the residents out there and voting is great for the visibility of the community," said Dunford.

Despite these efforts to increase the visibility of the community and the CPCP the organization has struggled of late.

"Fundraising has been difficult. These are challenging times for any small and new non-profit, and having the fund to say opened is a struggle," said Morgenbesser.

The CPCP came into being in the economic downturn that followed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but was able to survive on funding from local organizations. Soon the Partnership will have to look for funding from sources other than the organizations that helped get it started. This March the CPCP will hold its first fundraising event.

"We're two years old and we've come a long way as an organization, but we're still young and still a work in progress," said Morgenbesser. "We see Columbia Point as having amazing possibilities and potential and are always looking for things we can do to make it be all that it can be."

Information about the Columbia Point Community Partnership is available on the Web at cs.umb.edu/~cpcp/.

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