Beacon of Light Community Center aims to change lives in Columbia's Whitegate neighborhood
A project to revitalize a northeast Columbia neighborhood through the construction of a new community center is a step closer to reality following a groundbreaking Wednesday.
The idea for the Beacon of Light Community Center at 1801 Towne Drive in the Whitegate neighborhood dates back several years, said Damien Dean, United Community Builders executive director. UCB has completed the first phase of its $6 million capital campaign.
"We are embarking on a journey that will change the lives of a whole bunch of people," he said. "This was once a thriving neighborhood and a place for families. Over the last few years, it has run into some difficulty. Our job at United Community Builders is to impact where we are."
Every single person at the groundbreaking Wednesday contributed in some form or fashion to the end goal of creating the community center, Dean added. This has included volunteering and donations.
"You are the seed leaders. You are planting seeds that are going to bring a harvest to this community," he said.
The Veterans United Foundation 18 months ago made a considerable $1 million donation capital campaign. When that grant happened, UCB already had raised $1.5 million and other donations and grants since then, such as $750,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds from Boone County, have contributed to UCB reaching its phase 1 goal.
"It is impossible to be around this and not believe just as much as they do in what is going to happen here," said Erik Morse, Veterans United Foundation president, sharing he once lived in the adjacent apartment buildings to the Towne Drive location. "We are community partners."
The vision for the community center is one of upward mobility for low-income, at-risk and minority children and families. UCB aims to do this through various youth and family programs and services, according to a provided fact sheet.
Matt Moore, former Shelter Insurance CEO, and Gary Thompson, Columbia Insurance Group CEO and president serve as capital campaign co-chairs and offered their 'whys' for supporting the project from UCB.
"This is a start to making a better Columbia," Moore said. "Columbia is a great town, but we have a lot of areas that are underserved, and we have the resources to make a difference."
Columbia Insurance Group is roughly one to two blocks away from the community center's Towne Drive location, so Thompson has witnessed the ways in which the surrounding neighborhoods has changed over the last 30 years, sharing he's seen both the downsides and upsides of the community.
"What we have needed is a foundation and anchor to support the families and their needs in this part of Columbia," Thompson said. "Many organizations have tried, but they have not been that solid foundation that United Community Builders is going to provide."
The 22,500-square-foot community center, once built, will feature a commercial kitchen for community meals, a community meeting room for public use, a full-size gymnasium with bleachers for recreational activities, an early childhood education center and classrooms for after-school, adult and family education programs.
Russell Freeman, UCB board president and United Community Cathedral senior pastor, eventually would like to see five facilities on the five-acre property.
"What is to come is better than what has been," he said. "This campus is set to be more than one building. The community center is where we are starting. We already have started talking about the next building. The center is just the beginning."
More: United Community Builders plan community center as 'anchor of hope' for northeast Columbia
Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: United Community Builders starts work on community center in Columbia
