LeMoyne Community Center deserves support
It was disappointing to read about the closing of the Washington Community Arts and Cultural Center (Wash Arts), but it was encouraging to also read how its legacy would be continued through funding community centers in Washington County.
Unfortunately, missing was a donation to the LeMoyne Community Center, a nonprofit that has a mission similar to that of the Wash Arts.
The LeMoyne Community Center provides a diverse community of African American, biracial, white and Hispanic youth with opportunities to take free classes in Spanish, piano, drums, and art taught by highly-regarded professionals. This summer, the LeMoyne Community Center served over 120 youth daily, providing arts and other educational programs.
The LeMoyne Community Center feeds between 500 to 700 youth daily. The Washington School District and local police reports that grades are up and crime and youth truancy are down due to activities provided by the center.
As a board member of the LeMoyne Community Center, professor at California University of Pennsylvania and a Washington County resident, I’m hopeful that the board of Wash Arts rectifies this oversight and provides the youth in the community with much-needed capital to continue its arts program and keep the Wash Arts legacy alive through the LeMoyne Community Center.
Gwen Perry-Burney
California
Perry-Burney is a social work professor at California University of Pennsylvania.