Overview:
• The 2024 Community Makeover will transform Bond Hill with projects including a STEM/STEAM lab, food pantry upgrades, school renovations, and a recreation center.
• Over 400 volunteers will participate in a day-long service project on August 1.
By Michelle Curley
The Cincinnati Reds, Procter & Gamble and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden along with Cincinnati Children’s and GE Aerospace have selected the Cincinnati neighborhood of Bond Hill for the 2024 Community Makeover.
Now in its 15th year, the annual Community Makeover brings together some of Cincinnati’s most historic and iconic institutions with local community partners to make a transformative and sustainable impact on a Greater Cincinnati neighborhood while strengthening youth baseball and softball programs.
The anchor project site for the Bond Hill Makeover is the Xavier Jesuit Academy, a scholarship-funded, faith-based school for boys that will open its doors for the first time in August 2024. The academy will initially offer grades 3, 4 and 5 for young men from Bond Hill and nearby neighborhoods.
“The Bond Hill Community is on a roll and today’s announcement that the Community Makeover will happen here is a home run,” said Fr. Nathan Wendt, S.J., president, Xavier Jesuit Academy. “The Xavier Jesuit Academy is thankful to all the Makeover partners for their generosity and how their collective efforts will help transform Bond Hill for its residents and our students.”
The 2024 Bond Hill Community Makeover will take place over four sites. Initial projects include the following:
• Xavier Jesuit Academy – Installation of a STEM/STEAM lab, medical and art spaces, as well as an upgraded kitchen. The Cincinnati Zoo will lead efforts to create an Urban Learning Garden along with walking trails and other horticultural improvements.
• Bond Hill Food Pantry – The food pantry at the Church of the Resurrection, which serves the community every Wednesday, will receive upgrades to the offices, workspaces and pantry.
• Bond Hill Academy – Priorities include an upgraded playground, renovated outdoor classroom, STEM/STEAM lab, murals and other projects at the Cincinnati Public Schools Pre-K through 6th grade facility.
• Cincinnati Recreation Commission – Upgrades will be made to the Bond Hill Community Center and nearby ballfield.
“Bond Hill is undergoing a rebirth, and we are happy to play our part,” said Daniel Betts, director, Cincinnati Recreation Commission. “CRC’s recent addition of an FC Cincinnati mini pitch, new playground, ArtWorks mural and pickleball courts in Bond Hill will soon be joined by a top-tier ballfield and recreation center updates, creating a safe space for our kids to play. For the past 15 years our partnership with the Reds, P&G and Zoo has been transformative for Cincinnati communities and the youth we serve.”
Preliminary work will begin this spring and the effort will culminate on August 1 when more than 400 volunteers will take part in the day-long service project.
Bond Hill Community Makeover partners are:
• Lead partners: P&G, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, Cincinnati Reds and Reds Community Fund.
• Major partners: Cincinnati Children’s, GE Aerospace, Kroger and Cincinnati Recreation Commission.
• Community partners: United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati Public Schools, Cincinnati ToolBank, OneSource and Duke Energy Foundation
• Host partners: Xavier Jesuit Academy and Church of the Resurrection
Founded as a railroad suburb and temperance community in 1870, Bond Hill is located north of the Norwood Lateral and east of I-75 and is home to about 7,000 residents. It is the 19th-largest neighborhood in the City of Cincinnati.
The Reds were recently named a recipient of Major League Baseball’s Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence that is given annually to an MLB team. The honor recognized the 2022 Lincoln Heights Community Makeover that featured seven project sites across the historic village. The award recognized the work of all the project partners that collaborate on the makeover on an annual basis.