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By Jeff Moore

Contributing writer

 

A new community center will soon open in the former First Baptist Church in downtown Cordele.

The Dean Thaxton law firm is preparing to open the facility under a newly created non-profit entity, The Community of Cordele Inc., which has received its non-profit 501c3 status from the Internal Revenue Service.

In a Monday interview, Doug Dean explained the community center is founded on the idea that the entire community benefits when each member – person, business and government – is performing at his, her or its highest, and that the entire community benefits from communication and exchange of information freely and efficiently.

“In other words, the center is aimed to make each community member and resource more accessible,” Dean said. “To participate in the community merely means to give and take in a way that benefits and betters you but considers and respects the needs of the community as a whole.”

The building has not been used since the church’s daycare closed in May 2023, he noted.

The law firm is leading the initiative to create a space that Dean hopes will address unmet needs of Cordele and Crisp County.

When asking around about what Cordele needs, Dean said he frequently hears that the children need options on how to spend their time outside of drugs and violence.

“With that, the first aim of the community center is for its space to be used,” he said. “The center plans to use the two-story former education building for comfortable library-type space to read books and use the center’s laptops; arcade space with different types of arcade and console-type video games; brick-and-mortar movie and game rental space with facilities to watch movies in small groups on-site; other facilities for children to play with educational and other toys; and courtyard space for cookouts, projected movies, and other community events.”

The Dean Thaxton law firm has provided the funding to get the project started.

As a law firm, he explained that they’ve done different type of community service work.

“We do a program for free wills, advanced directives and powers of attorney. It started just for the Crisp County SSheriffs Office and we’ve expanded it to all first responders and then who live in working Crisp, and we actually just expanded it to all the neighboring countiess.”

The firm also focuses on literacy, having held a Halloween event with reading events, along with three with Santa Claus at Christmas. Families also got free pictures, he noted.

“One of the things that we have kind of been focusing on is literacy and as we do this, we learn more,” Dean said.

Needs such as addressing generational poverty, finances, transportation and the family’s ability to engage the educational system are parts of what they want to address through use of the community center because they all affect a child’s ability to become literate.

Through the programming at the center, he said they are hoping it can be all encompassing for young people with what could turn into a career or simply make a change in their lives.

“I didn’t realize that it was gonna be such a usable space,” he explained of the church that was constructed in 1899. “The kitchen is in really good shape. Some of the floors are in need of updating. But I mean it has very solid bones there and so it just seemed like kind of a natural place to you know have just community space.”

Dean said with literacy at the top of the needs they’ve looked at, a valedictorian who graduated from Crisp County High School and is now getting her doctorate from the University of Georgia is working with them to develop programs for the center.

“She looks at ways to make STEM programs — science, technology, education and math — more like widely accepted, more participated in. It’s almost like the psychology discipline about like getting people more invested in putting the resources into that kind of thing.”

The programs she designs with be based on what is already being provided by non-profits and governmental agencies, with an eye on what is being used, what is not and additional programming that is needed.

“Having that community space allows us to consolidate their efforts and have a centralized location for people that are either providing services or wanting to provide services,” Dean said.

The center is working with business strategists and education academics to develop programs aimed at providing tutoring and homework help to students and their adults-in-charge alike, he explained. Additionally, he said the goal is to provide liaison services to bridge communication gaps between parents and the school system; and identify and nurture children’s natural interests and areas in which they excel to build confidence in healthy areas of life that may translate to careers.

Dean said they’ve been talking with people about restoring the stained glass in the sanctuary and other features of the church to do some tweaking to create a full-blown venue and performing arts theater.

“The center also hopes to put the three-story building’s kitchen to use with limited hours some days each month and give local chefs the opportunity to show off their culinary skills cooking and selling food on-site and offering workshops and classes for cooking and healthy eating habits,” Dean noted. “This larger building has space for nonprofits to provide services with support and logistics services from the center itself.”

By the end of this week, he said they should have a checklist of minor repairs completed to get the state fire marshal’s approval to use the building. Work has included replacing ceiling tiles that were broken or missing and changing lights from florescent to LED bulbs.

“Then I think at that point we’re gonna start working on trying to get the health department to sign off on the kitchen,” he said.

Dean expects the community center should be able to open with limited hours in the next 30 days.

The building’s layout is just what is needed for the programs and services Dean and the law firm want for the community.

Four rooms will be used for a community exchange, he explained, which will allow people to donate clothes, toys, items for the elderly. He said people can drop off items they are no longer using for others who might need them.

A fifth room will likely be used for food items for the community, he said.

“There’s already a library there and there’s a good bit of books already,” Dean said. “We have a good bit of books ourselves. So, we’ll be able to start operating the library there and they’ll be some some space that we can set up with my couches and places for computers.

The former Baptist church has an industrial kitchen that is in good shape.

“We can have like a weekend event where people can come in,” Dean said. “You can have people that are cooking and serving food or selling food and a projected movie out there in the courtyard.”

They are also looking to partner with non-profit organizations that are providing services or those looking to add new services and need space.

Churches have also expressed an interest in using the community center, he noted.

While some may use it to spread the word of God, he said others have indicated they want a space for people to come, hang out and talk.

Some of the center’s longer-term projects include the old complex’s chapel and sanctuary, which the center plans to restore and convert to a wedding venue and modern music and performing arts space.

Anyone interested in discussing ideas or uses for the community center can reach out to Dean or any of the staff at the law firm. Dean can be reached at his cell number, 904-214-4504, or by email at doug@deanthaxton.law.

Donations are welcome, but he noted they have not sought out money.

“I’m not going around and asking for money at this point,” Dean said. “If it’s something that people are interested in, we could definitely do that. What we’ve been trying to do is just get as far as we can totally internally.”

Their current plan is to use the law firm’s staff and volunteers, along with Dean and his family, to get the center open and operating.

In the future, he said some non-profits may have funds they can put into the community center. They are also hoping one it is established to look for grant money that can help with its operations or programs.

“We can run it and we can operate on a trial basis and see what the interest is and you know if it’s something that’s really gaining traction,” Dean noted. He said they have the attorneys, accountants and everything needed to make sure it is run responsibly and is well managed.