The Alliance Neighborhood Center in Canton is getting a second life.
Things looked bleak for the center several years ago, with tenants leaving, board members resigning, and the organization losing its tax-exempt status. However, a group of locals led by Marion Grimes thought the center provided vital services, and stepped in to save it.
She and other residents took over as board members, and gave the operation of the center to an experienced organization called Family & Community Services.
Grimes noted the center was too valuable an asset to the community to just shut it down. She added that it serves underprivileged people from all over the community, not merely the local neighborhood. She and other board members want the center to be a safe place for the children and elderly.
Family & Community's executive director, Mark Frisone, said they have made structural repairs costing thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars, but the amount is much less than it could have been because they had a lot of volunteer help.
Frisone says his organization will provide services that are of value to the community, and are soliciting feedback for that purpose. They do have some programs in mind, including one that puts seniors in touch with organizations that need volunteers, and another that will find tutors for at-risk students.
Center officials could work with a flyer printing company to create a mailer about the center when it is ready to reopen.
