“This is the inaugural year for raising money into the budget that is set to pay for programming costs,” said Tanya Lowry, who was named director of the BTWCC in 2014.
The last few years have been a struggle at times for the center, with city officials and many of the organizations affiliated with the BTWCC wanting to change its structure and see more accountability in its day-to-day operations.
The city, Great Miami Valley YMCA along with the Hamilton Community Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club, the YWCA, Supports to Encourage Low-income Families (SELF), the Fitton Center for Creative Arts and Miami University Hamilton combined forces to lead the center and one of the first moves was to hire Lowry.
Betsy Hope of the Hamilton Community Foundation said the BTWCC has its finances in order and a good leadership structure that will help it meet the challenges of serving the community.
“We are impressed with the collaboration the Booker T. Washington Center has with the different community resources, and the overall impact it has had,” Hope said. “Each year for the past few years, the Booker T. Washington Center has been a funding priority for the Hamilton Community Foundation. It’s a great quality of life resource for many families in Hamilton.”
Lowry said the center is grateful for the community’s support and for all of the organizations that have helped the BTWCC grow.
Woody Fitton, CEO of the Great Miami Valley YMCA, explained how the his organization helps the BTWCC.
“The Booker T. Washington Community Center is a mission driven program of the Great Miami Valley YMCA, which is different from a membership branch of the association,” Fitton said.“We collaborate with many community partners and donors, such as the City, the Hamilton Community Foundation and the Butler County United Way to provide programming that serves the needs of the BTW Community Center members. Due to this generous support, we are able to subsidize the memberships and programming at the BTW Community Center.”
From arts classes to swimming lessons, the BTWCC has been generating plenty to do for youth in the city. Even saving a life has been on the agenda.
Last year, 70-year-old Dr. Ken McDowell, was shooting hoops, but went into cardiac arrest following a pick-up basketball game. The some of the BTWCC staff (Keziah Hendricks, Jerry Bryant, Tanya Lowry, Robert Berry) immediately began CPR, which ultimately saved his life.
The YMCA trains staff members at the center in CPR since the center is under the Y’s umbrella. Part of that training involves the proper use of AEDs (automatic external defibrillator), which was used to save McDowell’s life.
And of course this year was also special for the young boys and girls who wanted to learn how to play the game of baseball in the center’s Little League.
“This was the inaugural year for the BTW Little League,” Lowry said. “There once was a little league charter here, but it was lost, and our boundaries were absorbed by Hamilton-Fairfield Little League (HFLL). “ This is the first year for the newly chartered BTW Little League after reclaiming absorbed boundaries from HFLL.”
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