Rosenwald School restoration project Okahumpka, FL

This fundraiser is for the Florida Okahumpka Community Club, Inc,.

This project is to historically restore our Rosenwald School and have educational and interpretive displays about the history of Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington Phd., and Okahumpka native citizen and Florida Civil Rights Leader Virgil D. Hawkins, Esq. We will also build a new support facility with restrooms and meeting space for visitors, which will also be the "Virgil Hawkins Community Center." 

This project is now receiving funding from two sources. The Florida Department of State Historical Division's African American Cultural and Heritage grant, and also from the National Trust for Historic Preservations, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. We do not have enough funding from these two grants to restore the Rosenwald School and build the new Community Center.

However, the grant funding CAN NOT be used for specific County Code and State requirements, such as installing parking, and all the sidewalks that we will need. Also, work such as landscaping, and landscape buffers along adjoining properties, tree trimming and removal as needed, and several other mandates within the Planning & Zoning, Building codes & Permitting regulations such as handicapped parking, and possibly storm water collection and retention areas.

Other items not permitted in the grant guidelines that we will need are items for display, display methods and material, including computer equipment, electronic programming methods, display screens, and historical school-related furniture such as the large desks/tables, one table each for the grades 1-8 which were all taught simultaneously in two open-adjoining rooms and by only two teachers, who typically were not educated themselves.

All future donations made to this fundraiser will be directed for these above listed purposes.

(sample plot plans)

We truly appreciate your support of this historical and community project.