Renewed Focus on City Center Comes with new Leader, a Familiar Face in Brownsville
Press Release
Brownsville – The Mitte Foundation has announced its 5 millionth dollar cumulatively invested into the City of Brownsville with new and forthcoming enhancements to the Mitte Cultural District. The investments include ongoing nonprofit donations, a supporting plan for the Children's Museum of Brownsville expansion, $2 million in landscaping nearby to Dean Porter Park, an outdoor concert venue, spaces for local food trucks to serve their cuisine, more space for the farmers market and nutrition training plus auxiliary public parking.
The ongoing pandemic changed the nature of the planned spaces, but the spirit endures. “This announcement is the realization of many years of hard work and collaboration to return these spaces to the public interest for enjoyment, education and economic opportunity,” Coleith Molstad, longtime executive director, said. “The Foundation is proud to continue pursuing the vision of our co-founder Roy F. Mitte, and we hope residents and visitors to Brownsville enjoy these new cultural amenities for generations to come.”
Mitte was raised in Brownsville, Texas and vowed to give back to the community—a promise the Mitte Foundation (established in 1994) has been making good on for more than two decades. The Foundation has now granted $5 million and counting, in Brownsville alone, for the enrichment of all people starting with renovations to the area surrounding Dean Porter Park, Mitte Cultural District, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville Wellness Coalition, Children's Museum of Brownsville, Holiday Village, Costumes of the Americas and Valley Zoological Society. Recent and forthcoming improvements to the district include $2 million in landscaping at the entrance of the Mitte Cultural District, an outdoor concert venue with built-in "grass berm" seating for 120 (plus room for an additional 300 open lawn spots in front of the stage), spaces for local food trucks to serve their cuisine and parking for 54 vehicles.
The foundation has also collaborated with Brownsville Health and Wellness Coalition to add more space for the farmers market and for nutrition training. “While still in the preliminary stages of planning, the Mitte Foundation’s generosity will allow for a museum expansion, enabling us to amplify educational programs available for young people and adults in Brownsville and its surrounding areas,” Felipe Peña, executive director of the Children’s Museum of Brownsville, said. These projects have been overseen by the Foundation’s new president who has been quietly visiting Brownsville, meeting with people in the community and thinking about his grandfather’s roots in the city. “Brownsville is a place deep with heritage and family roots, so I have been cautious about being too visible as I first wanted to listen and learn,” RJ Mitte III, president of the board, a philanthropist and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning actor, said. “The Foundation board wanted to do something positive and accessible to all, creating memories as well as educational and economic opportunities. But it is important to me that it’s not just our vision. I needed to hear from locals first.”
RJ Mitte III became the president of the Foundation board in 2019 following a period of renewed vigor for the Mitte family and board in the Rio Grande Valley city. Projects have been the continuation of initiatives started more than 20 years ago. They slowed at a time of family transition during which co-founders Roy and Joann Mitte became ill and passed away. The Foundation made no grants in Brownsville between 2005 and 2015. In recent years, The Mitte Foundation has been working to make the Mitte Cultural District a big part of Brownsville’s appeal for tourism and for families. The organization’s mission is to identify, engage, and support educational and community organizations that have the potential to manifest the Foundation’s vision of “helping people achieve the American ideals of prosperity and individual freedom.”
About The Mitte Cultural District The Mitte Cultural District is a 1,180-acre area in the heart of Brownsville, Texas which is home to some of the most exciting and fascinating cultural entities in the area. Located within walking distance of each other, these popular attractions are representative of the culture and diversity Brownsville has to offer. The Mitte Cultural District builds on the vision of the Roy F. & Joann Cole Mitte Foundation when they provided funding for the Dean Porter Park restoration in 1998. The mission of the Mitte Cultural District is to promote and enhance historical, cultural, and educational activities there to encourage cultural and educational attraction through cooperation and programming. www.mitteculturaldistrict.org
About The Mitte Foundation For more than 25 years, The Roy F. and Joann Cole Mitte Foundation (The Mitte Foundation) has been working to identify, engage and support educational and community organizations that have the potential to manifest the Foundation’s vision of helping people achieve the American ideals of prosperity and individual freedom. The Foundation has granted nearly $5 million in Brownsville alone for the enrichment of all people starting with the renovation of Dean Porter Park, Mitte Cultural District, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville Wellness Coalition, Children's Museum of Brownsville, Holiday Village, Costumes of the Americas and Valley Zoological Society. The Foundation has awarded more than 3,000 scholarships to young people across Texas. www.mittefoundation.org