COMMUNITY
By Michelle Cassell
Assignment Editor/Correspondent
CHAPEL HILL — Local clergy are coming together to provide funding for a community center at the Weavers Grove Habitat for Humanity project.
Fourteen area churches are pledging $250,000 to support constructing the two-story, 3420 square-foot proposed building in the heart of the neighborhood. The center is planned to feature two multi-function rooms, a 295 square-foot kitchen with a serving bar. The community manager will have an office in the location.
The center will also offer planned activities, porches to relax on or wait for mass transit buses, outdoor areas with walking trails, a playground, a splash pad, a community garden, and a basketball court.
B3 Coffee is slated to establish a kiosk in the center. They will model it after the location in the Chapel Hill Public Library. B3 is a nonprofit that provides social and working opportunities for people of all levels of skill and abilities.
The Triangle YMCA will use the center to expand its Community Hope Program. Students in Community Hope programs come four to five days a week to meet with advisors and grow connections. During the mentoring time, students work through a literacy plan that addresses the student’s learning needs at each grade level, beginning with kindergarten and continuing through high school graduation, according to information on the Community Hope Program website.
“It is a place where neighbors can meet and help each other and form relationships, children can make friends on the playground, and “intentional partnerships and programming can support working together for a meaningful change,” according to the Habitat brochure on the project..
“We are very excited to have this local support for the Center that we see as a vital asset to bringing folks together from all parts of our community,” Orange County Habitat Director Krissy Dunn said.
A unique offering of the Center will be a “safe haven” for families during power outages. Solar panels will provide a way to maintain cell phone connections and refrigeration if needed.
“The community center will be a place where all social levels and all ages can meet and greet in a safe and nurturing environment,” Dunn said.
Christ United Methodist Church Associate Pastor Kristen Hanna said her church is committed to the fundraising effort.
“Our congregation is very supportive and will help throughout the year to sponsor events for the Community Center,” Hanna said.
The churches have three years to obtain the $250,000. The kickoff was in January, but the pledging process just ended. Congregations involved are Amity United Methodist, Binkley Baptist, Carrboro United Methodist, Chapel of the Cross, Christ United Methodist, Elevation Church, Holy Family Episcopal, Holy Trinity Luthern, St. Paul AME, St. Thomas More Catholic Church, United Church of Chapel Hill; University Baptist, University Presbyterian, and University United Methodist.
University Methodist Senior Pastor Justin Coleman is heading the steering committee for the capital campaign.
The Weavers Grove project will feature 101 habitat homes and 136 market-rate homes. The units will be a mix of The neighborhood will have 237 homes, including single-family, townhomes, duplexes, and condominiums.
On May 20, the development will celebrate the culmination of its capital campaign and the beginning of new home construction. The free event will offer tours, food trucks, and children’s activities. Sponsors include Habitat for Humanity and builder partners White Oak Properties and Garman Homes.
Michelle Cassell is a seasoned reporter who has covered everything from crime to hurricanes and local politics to human interest over the course of 35 years. As assignment editor, she hopes to encourage writers of a wide range of backgrounds and interests in TLR’s coverage of Southern Orange County news.
In the fundraising campaign for a community center in Weaver Grove – where are all the small non-denominational churches in the area? Were they invited to participate? Are they really fronts for right-wing organizing?