L.J. Hightower squares up a baseball during a baseball clinic organized by Jacksonville-based Walk Off Charities on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, inside Henry L. Aaron Field at J.P. Small Park. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today

Ameris Bank Director of Community Lending, Clyde Anderson, left, greets LISC Jacksonville Executive Director Irvin "PeDro" Cohen during a reception Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. Ameris awarded LISC Jacksonville $50,000 for its Project Boots program. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today

Elder Lee Harris is the longtime pastor of Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church in Durkeeville. He holds a revitalization plan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1996 as evidence that some of the promises made to Durkeeville residents have not always been upheld. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today

Henry Aaron Field at J.P. Small Ballpark is undergoing a $9.6 million renovation. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today

Children in the Durkeeville neighborhood wade into the waters at the Emmett Reed Swimming Pool on Friday, July 14, 2023.

Zay Tucker is a lifeguard at the Emmett Reed Community Pool in Brentwood. He stopped for a photo minutes before the pool opened for the summer in July 2023. Tucker has served as a lifeguard for five years. "I know a lot of people. I like seeing people I know and friends that live over here. It's cool," Tucker said. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today

MaliVai Washington, right, has developed the MaliVai Washington Youth Foundation from a tennis-only after-school program that served 25 students to a life and technical skills program that serves more than 200 students from Durkeeville, Grand Park and Moncrief. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today

Families of Slain Children is a Durkeeville-based non-profit that focuses on the emotional and physical health of families impacted by homicide. Every Monday it provides food to people in Durkeeville, Grand Park and the surrounding areas. Families of Slain Children is one of more than 100 food pantries affiliated with Feeding Northeast Florida. | Will Brown, Jacksonville Today