By Jasmine Willis
DANSVILLE — Two organizations are joining forces to hold a golf tournament fundraiser for our local community center.
The Dansville Lions Club and Dansville Rotary Club for the first time ever are having a Drives and Divots for Dansville Lions and Rotary Golf Tournament Benefit for Dansville Community Center.
The event will include lunch, dinner, prizes, basket raffle, chance to win a car, and a live auction. It will be held June 4 at Brae Burn Golf Course in Dansville. The organizations are reaching out to any individuals, businesses, and golfers who would like to sponsor or take part in the event.
The Dansville Community Center is constantly evolving throughout the pandemic. It has enhanced the lives throughout the community with enriching programs. The programs include; Five Little Monkey’s Daycare, Venture Crew 1776 (Boy Scouts of America), Dansville Food Pantry and Clothing Shed, Hyabusa Karate, Pickleball, Basketball, Floor Hockey, Dansville Youth Basketball and Softball, Dansville Summer Soccer, Movie Nights, and TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly). The center partners with the following; Dansville Central Schools, Village of Dansville, Town of N. Dansville, Hillside Youth Services, Dansville Rotary Club, Dansville Lions Club, CASA Trinity, Livingston County, Alfred Counseling, C.A.N.N., BlueBrick Studios, and K’s Canine Training.
Four Square Church Assistant Pastor Derek Wadsworth gave the highlights of the community center to this local reporter.
“We updated the community center room. This is where we do after school. The kids come over here for educational support, themed weeks, reading, imagination station and supervision,” he said. “We moved Movie Night into the big room to watched themed movies on Friday. We log into the library or zoom for the kids to watch the movie digitalized. We are installing a new lab in the old movie room.”
Wadsworth said the daycare center provides access to the parents via video chat with their infants through the day. The daycare employees can connect with the parents if need be for any situation. There can be up to eight infants at a time in the infant’s room, and there is a waiting list. The toddlers room has several safety measures in place to keep an eye on the children throughout the day. The primary school playground was donated to the community center, and will save them thousands of dollars. It should be installed in a couple of months. Wadsworth said he plans on opening up the new playground to the community for birthday parties and other events. He wants everyone to be able to enjoy this gift.
“We got a new soundboard system in church that we play 10 songs on about anti-bullying. We have sent it out to all the schools. We want to keep that conversation going, since it is such an important topic right now,” he said.
Wadsworth said the food pantry has truly expanded since the Covid-19 Pandemic. He had an eagle scout build a walkway off the church for people to go into the pantry. This opens into a grocery store type experience. The shoppers even have the old metal shopping carts from TOPS Friendly Markets to put all of their items in as they walk around.
“We wanted to make people feel empowered. It is a truly great experience for all of them to have it feel like a real grocery store. We have food we get from the Save A Lot’s trucks at cost to donate at the food pantry. We have personal items donated as well. We open it up to anyone in the community who is at need to come and have this experience. It has been a true blessing for the whole community in this pandemic,” Wadsworth said.
The food pantry is open every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You just need to be in the Dansville Central School district to apply.
The clothing shed at the community center is one of the most used in the country. It has been a huge blessing in the pandemic as well. Wadsworth added that the center is always in need of clothing, and it can be dropped off at the shed.
“We will use the money raised at this golf tournament to expand the food pantry, safeguard the gymnasium, and install the playground,” Wadsworth said. “We are very grateful to the Dansville Lions Club and Dansville Rotary Club for choosing us this year.”
Wadsworth said this is not about growing Four Square Church, which happens to reside in the same building as the community center. It is about giving back to the community he calls home.
“This is not about growing our church. This is about the people in this community, and making a healthier and safer Dansville,” he said.
Wadsworth has been offering spiritual counseling for three years at the center. He said people come to him from all walks of life. He wants to touch people where they are at in life. He is about helping his community.
The Dansville Community Center is located at 43 West Avenue in Dansville. You can contact them at 585-335-7890 or dansvillecommunitycenter@gmail.com Visit the center for more information on programs at www.dansvillecommunitycenter.org Register for the golf tournament or become a sponsor by contacting Dave Mapes at 585-944-0916 or Terry Muchler at 585-335-8129. Anyone can register or donate for the golf tournament who has an interest for the game. You don’t have to live in Dansville.
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