A southeast Columbus community center is preparing to reopen with new leadership.
As with many businesses, restaurants and nonprofits, the America and Roby Anderson Center officially closed last March in an effort to keep the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading, board chairman Dascal Bunch said.
“I understand why they closed down,” Bunch said. “Some people would have still come over every day to drink coffee with no mask or protection.”
But for several months before the novel coronavirus emerged, the facility at 421 McClure Road was being underutilized, board member and Columbus City Councilman Tom Dell said.
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The Anderson Center was usually open for private rentals, as well as for a meal site, Dell said.
But a number of former board members resigned after moving out of the neighborhood or becoming involved in other work or community activities, according to Dell and new board vice-chairman Beth Turner.
Suddenly, there were few people willing to staff the center on a regular basis, Bunch said. The facility’s last paid employee, Sue Lamborn, left in 2015 when the building was still called the Eastside Community Center, he said.
While the building had been sealed up for quite some time, efforts to reopen and revitalize the center were put back on track in late summer, Bunch said.
Bunch and Turner were recruited as the top officers of a new board of directors that also includes Dell, Matt Ortman, Rick Roberts and Jessica Taylor. The names of the new board members were put on the lease of the city-owned facility on Sept. 22, Dell said.
“It was something that was happening so fast it made everybody’s head swim,” said Bunch, who described the center’s new leaders as an all-volunteer, working board.
One of the first steps undertaken by the new board was to ensure that someone would be in the Anderson Center most days between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Bunch said.
After the board inspected the facility, it didn’t take long to discover things were “a real mess,” Bunch said.
“We’re in for a challenge over there as far as getting things accomplished,” Bunch said. “We’re going to need a new roof. The gutters have never been cleaned. And it was unreal how bad the interior was.”
But by the end of last week, the interior had been cleaned and reorganized. And efforts to secure funding for a new roof are now being examined by Robin Hilber, assistant director of community development for the city, Dell said.
Since there is still a lot to maintenance work ahead, Bunch said the board decided not to have Halloween activities late this month.
But the board, which meets at 6 p.m. during the fourth Thursday of every month at the center, is already discussing the possibility of reviving former activities or initiating new programming including health fairs and financial classes, Bunch said.
Upcoming events confirmed by Turner include offering flu shots and COVID-19 testing on Nov. 4, a drive-thru or delivery of Thanksgiving meals on Nov. 21, and a holiday get-together for children in December.
The board has also arranged to provide free tax preparation from February through April 15th next year, Turner said.
But one thing board members agree on is that the center should provide patrons with activities they want, Bunch said.
Five years ago, the community center’s leaders were told they need to get out, canvass nearby neighborhoods and ask residents what activities they would like to see at the center. However, that was never done, the board chairman said.
“We know there’s a need for a community center, but we don’t know what those needs are,” Bunch said. “That’s been killing us.”
When the facility was called the Eastside Community Center, it emphasized educational programming such as budgeting, foreclosure intervention, tax assistance, financial literacy and stability.
While many non-members lauded those programs, the patrons made it clear they wanted more social activities.
Today, the new board wants to offer programming at the Anderson Center that interests not only the neighbors, but others in the community, Bunch and Turner said.
A 2015 needs assessment showed patrons want “somewhere they can go to play cards, get a meal, having a sewing club, those kind of things,” said former State Street Area Association President Julie Bilz during an interview when the Anderson Center was formally dedicated.
Another new direction being undertaken is the creation of partnerships with other organizations such as the Lincoln-Central Neighborhood Family Center, Bunch said. Another partner is the Thrive Alliance organization, Turner said.
“We don’t necessarily want to mirror the (Lincoln-Central) organization, but we would like to determine what we can do that Lincoln-Central can’t do well because they are so stretched,” Bunch said. “There are so many things in Columbus that cannot survive by themselves. It takes different groups working with each other to keep several activities going.”
Collaboration with other groups also minimizes the possibility of duplication of services, Dell said.
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The America and Roby Anderson Community Center board of directors are encouraging residents to attend its monthly meeting to offer ideas and support. Meetings are at 6 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of every month at 421 McClure Road.
The center is trying to ensure a representative is in the center most days between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The center’s phone number is 812-799-0910.
Roby Anderson (1918-2000) and his wife, America (1921-2005), natives of Tennessee, founded the community center in the garage of their Morningside Drive residence in 1969.
Seven years later, a much-larger facility opened on McClure Road under the name Eastside Community Center. As a result of declining membership and unpaid taxes, the center was temporarily closed in 2015.
But the facility reopened in May 2016, when it was dedicated as the America and Roby Anderson Community Center. The reopening was made possible by a transition team consisting of representatives from United Way of Bartholomew County, Heritage Fund — The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, the State Street Area Association and city government.
During the 2016 dedication ceremony, Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop said the center’s main purpose is to provide "a sense of place, and the opportunity to gather and enjoy one another’s company.”
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