It remains challenging for the Spy to keep up with the work of Derick Daly. The chair and president of Polaris Village Ministries, along with his wife Dina, have not only given birth to one of the most successful after-school programs in the state with their development of BAAM (Building African American Minds) over the last 17 years, the couple, along with their extended family, have found ingenious ways to use both for-profit and nonprofit structures to improve neighborhood housing, create a new academic center Polaris Village Academy, secure funding for a community gymnasium, among other remarkable achievements during that time.
Their latest project is restoring the former Mount Pisgah Church on Port Street and transforming it into a unique children’s daycare center on the second floor and a full-sized commercial kitchen and dining space on the first floor to offer free or low-cost meals for up to 130 people. The mission is to provide a pipeline of those kids to enroll in Polaris Village Academy programs when they reach the right age. It also provides a safe, handsome dining facility (headed by a real chef committed to high-quality food) for the entire community.
The Spy sat down with Derick last month to hear more.
This video is approximately five minutes in length. For more information about Polaris Village Ministries and their projects please go here.
Vickie J. Wilson says
Thanks for all you do. For you and Dina having the vision. It was a pleasure for me to have served on the board.