Bethlehem Center Hosts Community Event
Bethlehem Center, a Spartanburg nonprofit that has been serving the Highland community since 1930, hosted a community event to announce their plans to build a new facility. The announcement was held during a community celebration where residents were invited to learn about the new facility while enjoying food, music, and fellowship.
The mission of Bethlehem Center is to support, strengthen, and inspire individuals and families, as well as facilitate opportunities for personal and community advancement. Bethlehem Center offers a range of services that support the community, including: the Highland Early Learning Center, which supports 3K, 4K, and PreK activities, afterschool and summer programming for youth, wellness and financial aid courses for adults, along with senior programming.
The new facility marks a major milestone for Bethlehem Center, which has operated out of its current building for over fifty years. Space and age constraints have limited their capacity; the new facility will allow them to expand support for children and families and lead to a broader investment in the community.
"We are incredibly excited about this next chapter for Bethlehem Center," said Patrena Mims, Executive Director of Bethlehem Center. "This is an important step toward expanding our reach and serving even more members of our community. We are profoundly grateful to all our partners whose unwavering support is making our dreams a reality."
The new facility will be built on a vacant lot recently donated by the City of Spartanburg to Bethlehem Center for the project. The lot, at the corner of Highland and Daniel Morgan avenues, is located just two blocks from the existing facility. City Council Member Janie Salley, who represents the Highland neighborhood, spoke on the City’s hopes for Bethlehem Center’s future.
"Donating the land for the new Bethlehem Center facility was an opportunity for the City of Spartanburg to assist with improvements and services to the area," said City Council Member Janie Salley. "The Bethlehem Center has always served as a beacon of hope for the community. The new facility will enable them to serve even more members of our community and provide critical support to uplift our youth and families for generations to come."
Dr. Russell Booker, Chief Executive Officer of Spartanburg Academic Movement, which leads Movement 2030, a community plan to advance education outcomes and opportunities for life success in Spartanburg County, spoke at the event and emphasized the importance of Bethlehem Center to the Spartanburg Community.
"Bethlehem Center is an invaluable partner in achieving Movement 2030's goals. Their work directly contributes to our vision of driving successful life outcomes in Spartanburg. We are proud to support this next step, which will significantly enhance their capacity to serve the community, allowing us to collectively impact more lives and accelerate progress towards a brighter future for Spartanburg." - Dr. Russell Booker, CEO, Spartanburg Academic Movement.
The speakers were rounded out by Superintendent Jeff Stevens, Spartanburg School District 7. District 7 has made significant investments over the years in community initiatives that benefit students, including a longstanding partnership with Bethlehem Center. His remarks highlighted the value of public-private partnerships in enriching the lives of youth in Spartanburg and shared his hopes that the new facility will enable more students to be served.
“Kindergarten readiness is a key indicator for a child’s success throughout their K-12 educational career. Spartanburg School District 7’s key strategic goals include increasing our percentage of incoming kindergarteners who demonstrate readiness to learn, and expanding access to quality early childhood education in our community is the linchpin for achieving this goal. We are grateful for our partnership with the Bethlehem Center and know this new facility will lead to increased student participation and expanded services available to our students and their families. We look forward to its completion and to creating a bright future for all children.” - Superintendent Jeff Stevens, Spartanburg School District 7.
