This is the third in a series of articles about our church's outreach initiatives. This issue reports on volunteer opportunities at the Carver Center in Port Chester. Bob Izard is executive vice president of the Center's Board of Directors and chairman of its development committee.

Port Chester Carver Center

by Bob Izard

Building Brighter Futures

The Port Chester Carver Center began in 1943 in a storefront as an after-school program for minority children whose parents worked in wartime defense plants.

I got started with Carver in the early '80s. I was reading an article by Mother Teresa who, when asked what you could do to help alleviate pain and suffering in the world replied "Start where you are". Rye was where I was, and the organization that was most in need of help was Carver Center.

Carver was in a run-down 6,000 square foot building, formerly a synagogue, in the poorest part of Port Chester. It was virtually bankrupt and its Executive Director had just left. I learned of a young African American lawyer, temporarily out of a job, who agreed to run the Center while I did the fund raising. He served for three years on a pro bono basis until Carver could get back on its feet.

Carver rocked along until the late nineties, but any attempts to move to larger quarters were blocked by the Port Chester Village Council, made up of old line Italians, who did not want Carver to move into "their" part of town.

However, our luck turned in 1998 when we had the chance to buy the YMCA facility on Westchester Avenue. The day the final contract was signed, however, the Village trustees voted to block our move by condemning the building for eminent domain.

Quite a rhubarb, with racial overtones, ensued! The first condemnation hearing, held at the Court House, was disbanded because the number of people who turned out, mostly Carver supporters, could not fit into the building. A rescheduled hearing at the Capitol Theatre also attracted a large crowd. Tempers were running high! The lady pastor of the AME Zion Church even received telephoned death threats and arrived flanked by two huge bodyguards.

However, after three months of public pressure and unfavorable publicity, the Village backed down. So there we were - with limited finances moving from a 6,000 square foot building into one of 50,000 square feet with a full gymnasium and an Olympic size pool. As one of my friends commented at the time, "Be careful what you wish for, you might get it".

In the five years since the move to our new facility, Carver's programs and numbers of people served have exploded. Our basic children's programs, including Day Care/Head Start, After School and the Summer Camp Program, have long waiting lists. We have a Teen Center 4 evenings a week and have added other programs for teenagers, including our Teen Outreach Program and Training Teens for Tomorrow.

A comprehensive sexuality educational program now serves more than 200 students; teen mothers are offered education and support to reduce pregnancies and the Touchpoints Parenting Classes are held for young moms on a weekly basis.

Our Community Action Program each month serves over 500 families, who receive 2 bagfuls of nutritious food, as well as clothing and furniture. Senior brunches are held monthly. Healthcare is provided to seniors and new programs now serve the rapidly growing Latino populations.

In 6 years, we have become a full service community center. A facility that 5 years ago seemed much too large now seems much too small. Our budget, less than $150,000 when I started, now is 10 times that size. All our programs are free or carry a nominal charge.

Our church has been most supportive over the years and last year gave Carver $5,000. Nancy Haneman is the Development Director. Volunteers from our church include Munroe Cobey, Jon Anda, Calvine Dunnan, David Moore, and Bill Langham, who runs Dinners at Noon, which serves a hot lunch at Carver one Saturday each month.

The following is a letter from young Carver supporters with big hearts.

Dear Carver Center friends,

We wanted to explain how and why we are making this donation to your food pantry. In our family we give away one third of our allowance each year. Our mom said that your pantry was short of supplies, so the three of us decided to use $100 each of our "Give Away Money." We had a little contest. We each got a cart at Costco and, with pads of paper and calculators, we tried to see who could get the most and best food for our money. We learned that junk food is very expensive and that healthier food is cheaper. We also learned that we are very lucky that we never have to worry about being hungry.

We hope this helps.

Very truly yours

Conor, Kerry and Dylan Lynch