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Local families celebrate CCE’s 10th anniversary
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L-R Teasia Lambert, 11, of Youngstown; Kevin Maghan, 9, of Youngstown Travon Tinsley, 4, of Youngstown and Tamiara Branch, 11, of Youngstown at Community Day at the Rockford Village in Youngstown Saturday, August 23, 2008.
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Travon Tinsley, 4, of Youngstown on the swing at Community Day at the Rockford Village in Youngstown Saturday, August 23, 2008.
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Aiyna Moore, 3, of Youngstown in the ballpit at Community Day at the Rockford Village in Youngstown Saturday, August 23, 2008. Daniel C. Britt.
By Sean Barron
Sports and programs for at-risk youth are a few services the center offers.
YOUNGSTOWN — Keith Butler enjoys sharpening various basketball fundamentals at the Center for Community Empowerment, but the center is a lot more than a place to practice dribbling, shooting and footwork.
For the 13-year-old Youngstown boy, coming to the center on Youngstown’s East Side means being part of a community.
“I want people to come, and don’t be afraid of the neighborhood,” said Keith, who plays on a basketball league at CCE.
Keith was on hand Saturday as part of a two-day community day and carnival that got under way Friday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the center, 1420 Dogwood Lane, in Rockford Village housing development.
Carnival rides, games and inflatable attractions for kids kept many youngsters entertained.
Accompanying Keith were cousins Katlyn Griffin, 4, and her 6-year-old sister, Demetria, both of whom said the food was among their favorite aspects of the center and celebration.
“I like playing games like kickball and volleyball,” Demetria added.
Many people endured the 85-degree heat to attend the event, which also featured 50/50 and bicycle raffles, a variety of vendors and information booths with pamphlets on seat-belt safety, jobs and many other topics. Plenty of R B, jazz and hip-hop music filled the air.
The nonprofit CCE provides myriad services to low-income people and helps ex-convicts find housing and jobs, noted Ella M. Peterson, administrator of day care and programming.
Other services include a state rehabilitation program to help those on Social Security income get job training and placement; counseling for single parents; a year-round day care and preschool for children as young as 6 months; opportunities for at-risk youngsters 14 to 17; basketball, softball, tennis, golf and other sports; and a food pantry, she explained.
The annual event also is to thank the community and parents for their support, Peterson added.
In addition to helping children and youth, the center also fosters parental growth, partly by encouraging the adults to continue their education, noted Dorothy Macklin, a teacher who works with 3-year-olds in an Early Learning Initiative program at CCE.
Macklin, who will attend Youngstown State University this fall to major in education, said the facility also adopted a state program that encourages and helps pay for teachers to return to school.
In addition, an after-school program offers youngsters activities, field trips and opportunities to complete their schoolwork, she continued.
The center opened in Campbell with 15 kids and now serves more than 100 each day, noted the Rev. Willie F. Peterson, the facility’s executive director and founder.
Of those, 73 are in the after-school program. There’s also a drum line with 40 to 50 kids from all parts of the city, said the Rev. Mr. Peterson of New Birth Kimmelbrook Baptist Church, who’s also the husband of Ella Peterson.
Many teenagers are taught work ethics and land successful jobs, he said, adding that the center also will have a program to teach young people responsible ways to budget money.
The community center has worked to build positive relationships with families and youngsters in the neighborhood. Those relationships, combined with the facility’s offerings and focus on self-sufficiency, have greatly reduced crime in the area, he pointed out.
“This neighborhood is safe, despite its history of violence and crime,” Mr. Peterson said. “We’re open five days a week and give young people somewhere to go and something to do.”