DETROIT (FOX 2) – It’s helped Lamar Curry become a gentleman, with school, keeping him focused and set him on the path to success.
“This community center means a lot to me, I grew up here,” he said.
A member of the Brightmoor community, Curry visits Mission City often. For the last decade, that community center has helped serve thousands of kids in the neighborhood. Run on donations, its become a beacon of hope for those in need of assistance.
The pastor who runs the community center said that many who use the establishment don’t have water. They may not have heat. That he can smell the kerosene on them from trying to keep warm.
“So for us, we just want to be a supplement,” Semmeal Thomas said. “We’re not trying to replace the government, we’re trying to add onto services that people may already have.”
The center offers a slew of resources. From the digital center that offers computer coding classes to the bounty of instruments people can play, Mission City is open seven days a week.
“Mondays and Tuesdays, we do mentoring and tutoring,” Thomas said. “On Wednesdays, we partner with an organization called Seven Mile and we do free music classes.”
Despite the stockpile of activites available, there are still needs to be filled. Mission City needs a 15-seat bus or van that can help kids get to the community center. Because they service a four-mile-radius around the church, there’s plenty of people that want to visit the center but don’t feel safe walking.
“So having dependable transportation or we can go and pick up children, drop them off, would be a tremendous asset to our program,” said Thomas.
