Our CIC "House"

The Phillips Community Initiatives for Children(PCIC) came into being in 1988 as a result of a neighborhood study of the Phillips Neighborhood which was the largest, poorest and most ethnically diverse community in the City of Minneapolis. This grassroots efforts determined that there was a need to support low-income parents in their efforts to become self-sufficient and to prepare their children for success in school and life. PCIC programs and services were offered out of "Our House", an old house that provided a supportive environment for parents and children.

Over the next 14 years PCIC served a changing population in the Phillips Neighborhood, building strong relationships with other groups and agencies in the community. During this time the program moved to a "new" home on 24th and Elliot. This was the time when the HIPPY program was adopted as a primary way to serve families.

In 2002/2003 PCIC developed a strategic plan to address the needs of the changing and diverse families who were being negatively impacted by school and state budget cuts. This is the time when PCIC became Community Initiatives for Children (CIC) to reflect a service area that had broadened over time to include nine of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Minneapolis; Phillips, Ventura-Village, Whittier, Central, Powderhorn, Cedar Riverside, Near-North, Sumner-Glenwood and Hawthorne.

Since 2003, CIC has continued to refine the programs and services offered. Hundred of families have been assisted in preparing their children for success in school through the use of effective and proven programs that are holistic and community based.

CIC continues to create new collaborations and seek new funding partners as foundation and government support shrinks. Despite these challenges, the Board, staff and volunteers of CIC are committed to continuing the long history of empowering families through self-reliance and education