West Central Community Center - Kim Ferraro

           On deck: The speaker scheduled for the Sept. 19 meeting is Kevin Benson of Bold Move Consulting.  Future programs, said coordinator Brad Stark, will include candidates for the 3^rd and 6^th  state legislative districts, the county commission and Superior Court judge.

 

            Fond farewell: Past-president Bruce Ellwein said goodbye as he moves to a new assignment with First Command in Tucson.  In parting, Bruce donated $7 to the collection basket  – one dollar for each year he was a club member.

 

            Whatever a visitor’s age or need, the West Central Community Center applies its ubiquitous slogan: “There’s a place for you here.”

 

            Kim Ferraro, the center’s executive director, on Sept. 12 outlined the programs and possibilities of a closer working relationship with the club, which is located at 1603 N. Belt.

 

            Ferraro, a Plains, Mont. Native, returned to Spokane from Los Angeles to become only the second executive director at West Central.  She has been there 5 years, following the 30-year tenure of Don Higgins.

 

            The center primarily serves residents of the West Central, Emerson-Garfield, Riverside and near Northwest neighborhoods.  Programs, she said, include WIC (Women’s, Infants, and Children’s health and nutrition), Head Start/Early Start, Youth

Development and Recreation and Supportive Services, a catch-all category ranging from computer connections to various social services.  One new program, she said, is for developmentally-disabled adults.

 

            Ferraro describes West Central as a “hybrid” facility because it houses programs, has tenants, and also rents space to visitors.  Space is offered free for community activities and rented from private events, such as birthday parties or weddings, she

said.

 

            One tenant is Unify Community Health, formerly the Yakima Valley Farm Workers health program, which has one of its three area clinics at West Central.  One target of health services, Ferraro said, is the demographic that the West Central neighborhood has “the highest rates of teen pregnancies and moms who smoke in Spokane County.”

 

            She also praised the work of long-time staffer Rick

 

            Because of its strategic location, the center also houses a Spokane Police detective and serves as a meeting hall for visitors such as former Vermont governor Howard Dean, who spoke there during his 2004 presidential campaign.

 

            The police presence is welcomed, Ferraro said, “because we have a tremendous amount of crime in the neighborhood.  Needles from drug users are picked up daily in the (adjacent A.M. Cannon) park.”  She added that construction will begin next month on a garage to house the center’s van and other vehicles.  The van was stolen recently and tires have been slashed twice by the same teen-ager.

 

            The center operates on a $1.7 million annual budget, Ferraro said, “with lots of federal funding,” mainly through community development block grants, plus city general funds.  The four Spokane centers also have raised $250,000 by auctioning 12 play houses, she said.

 

            In addition to the welcoming slogan, Ferraro said the center stresses its “core beliefs” with the acronym “REACH – Respect, Empower, Advocate, offer Compassion and Hope.”

 

            The center, she said, works closely with Holmes School since it shares the same family base.  Ferraro said she wants to talk more with club President Nancy Hanson about shared activities with Spokane North Rotary.

 

            The center stages a school supplies drive with help from the General Store and also coordinated collection of 5,000 pounds of food for needy neighbors.

 

            “We’re so glad we can do what we do in West Central,” Ferraro said.

          The club’s newest member is Tim Zacharias, a financial advisor the past three years with the Edward Jones firm.

 

          Tim, who was born in Germany, served 21 years in the Air Force as a helicopter pilot and instructor.  He was stationed at Fairchild from 1994 to 1998.

 

          Tim and wife Alley live in Colbert and have three children, including two who attend Mt. Spokane High.

 

 

          Bulletin editors: Chuck Rehberg and Sandy Fink

 

 

          Program coordinator: Brad Stark