1 week Ago
When shovels hit dirt in the empty lot at 2032 U St., it was more than a groundbreaking for the new Malone Community Center that will replace the old building that stood on the site for 42 years. “This groundbreaking is a symbol of progress and the start of a brand-new story,” Malone CEO John Goodwin told those who attended the Sept.
9 ceremony. “This groundbreaking is to celebrate the start of a new venture, to give thanks to those who have paved the way.” That progress is seen, fiscally, in the $14.
1 million that a fundraising campaign has raised toward the $23.1 million needed to build the new 54,000-square-foot building — enough that construction can begin this month, putting the project on a timeline for completion in 2026. It’s also a measure of community support for the center as more than 75 donors have contributed to the project, from the lead gifts of $2 million from the Abel Foundation and $500,000 from the Duncan Aviation Family Trust to the $63,000 raised by 13-year-old Flynn Rash on the way to his goal of $100,000.
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The project also received $3.3 million from the state’s Shovel-Ready Capital Recovery and Investment Act program and $1.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars, government support for the center that was, in a sense, symbolized by Gov.
Jim Pillen’s attendance at the ceremony. The groundbreaking, however, symbolized more than just dollars and cents and bricks and mortar. It was a recognition of the transformation of the Malone Center, which was established in 1955 and soon became the heart of Lincoln’s Black community.
The center has continued in that role but has been implementing a new vision, an effort to break the cycle of poverty by focusing on children. “We have to give them experiences that they’ve never experienced before. We have to bring the love to them that they have never experienced before.
And when you walk into this building, you want to walk out differently,” Goodwin said. “It’s always been that way, and it's going to remain that way.” To that end, Malone has established early childhood education and pre-kindergarten programs, a daily out-of-school program for children age 5 to 12 and is continuing its Culler Community Learning Center, a grouping of clubs in STEM, sports and art that now serves more 180 students.
Those programs, which have been scattered across multiple locations since the old building was demolished, will come together and be enhanced when the new Malone Center opens its doors in 18 to 20 months. That, like the groundbreaking, will be a notable occasion, marking one of the biggest steps forward in the 70-year history of the Malone Center and its invaluable work in Lincoln’s Black community and, through its focus on children, the city’s future. Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly!.
