After church on Sunday, November 18th, nearly 50 people from the Trinity congregation gathered in the lower level of the church for the Bryant Neighborhood Center Summit. This presentation and conversation offered an opportunity for the Transformational Presence Team to share with the congregation the developing vision, mission, and programming plans for the Bryant Neighborhood Center (BNC).
The Vision and Mission Statements
The drafts of the vision and mission statements were written with an eye towards the values of the Trinity Outreach Programs, and the outcomes we aspire to at the BNC. Both statements were well supported.
We presented the following draft Vision Statement:
We envision a diverse, connected, and empowered Bryant Neighborhood, with neighbors actively participating in the development of a healthy, just, and sustainable community.
Many respondents supported and appreciated the phrase, “neighbors actively participating.” It was also suggested we better define our terminology and scope, though the general consensus was that this accurately represents our vision for the BNC.
We also presented the following draft Mission Statement:
The Bryant Neighborhood Center serves as a community hub to link local residents with high quality resources, where young minds learn and grow, relationships are formed, and basic needs are met, amplifying residents’ vision for the community.
Attendees appreciated the idea of “amplifying residents’ vision for the community,” but some felt that other phrases needed to be clarified. The BNC will be a place for people of all ages, and some of the phrasing needs to be updated to represent that. The Transformational Presence team is excited to continue crafting our mission statement with the feedback we received.
Programming in the BNC
Blue: Trinity’s Current Outreach Programs; Green: Current Community Partners
The Summit took a look at what programming will be offered once the BNC opens.
Trinity’s current Outreach Programs already actively address many needs in our community. When this new space opens, we expect to expand programming and opportunities in our neighborhood. Trinity Outreach Programs currently serve 3,500 people each year. Within the first five years of the BNC, we seek to grow that number to nearly 5,000.
Below, see some of our current thinking on how that might impact our current programs.
TAP - The Trinity Afterschool Program
TAP generally serves 10-12 students every year. If we want to serve additional students, we might step away from our one-to-one, student to volunteer ratio, find a new way to recruit additional volunteers, or expand the program to serve students with different needs on different days. Whatever happens, we will continue to provide opportunities for involvement and developing relationships with the students and families from Bryant Montessori.
The Bobcat Learning Center will continue to be hosted on site at Jason Lee, Monday - Thursday. The classroom spaces and partnerships with teachers and community members serve the program well. However, events like the weekly Friday programming, Spring Break Week, Parent Nights and other special events would benefit from the revitalized space of the Bryant Neighborhood Center.
Tony’s Kitchen will continue to offer soup and conversation. Our team of volunteers do an excellent job building neighborhood relationships, and we are excited to see that continue. With our revitalized space, we could potentially expand and host a meal more than one day a week.
Our Pat’s Closet leadership is discussing changes to our current model that would focus more on distributing specific, high-need items throughout the year, such as socks, gloves, hygiene items, and coats. Our new space means less room for clothing storage, and this shift is causing us to consider how we might serve our neighbors in even more mindful ways. Pat’s Closet and Tony’s Kitchen will likely continue to operate alongside each other, possibly with an even greater capacity than before.
The Trinity Neighborhood Clinic
The Clinic will continue to operate at Trinity House each Tuesday evening. After much conversation, the Clinic board determined that the current arrangement works remarkably well for a ‘pop up’ weekly clinic. The BNC will seek to create opportunities in coordination with the Clinic around health education and workshops.
Opportunities We’re Exploring
Blue: Trinity’s Current Outreach Programs; Green: Current Community Partners; Orange: Potential and Planned Partnerships
While Trinity Outreach Programs are already meeting many needs of our neighbors, the Bryant Neighborhood Center also opens up opportunities for even more investment and intentionality, as well as new programming that could be brought into our neighborhood. One potential opportunity highlighted at the Summit is the Play To Learn program run by the Children’s Museum of Tacoma. In conversations with the Children’s Museum, there is excitement on both sides to see a Play To Learn group potentially hosted in the BNC.
The Trinity community was eager to discuss the many opportunities the BNC will afford, and is looking forward to having a bright, open and welcoming space, with a crowd-friendly kitchen to host and care for our neighbors. The list of ideas is as long and diverse as the church members in attendance, and the community we seek to serve. Check out some ideas below!
Additional Ideas from the Community
A Bike Program
Partnership with Metro Parks
Parkour on the handicap accessible ramp
Resource Center
Neighborhood Council
Youth Game Night
Yoga
Non-profit Coworking Space
Cooking Classes
Affordable Daycare
Music Education
Opportunities for Special Needs Kids
Community Organizing
Exercise Classes
Parenting Classes
Evening Pick-Up Basketball
Free Legal Advice
Veteran Support Group
Financial Counseling
Baby/Mom Meet Up
Talk Time
Parent Resource Center
The BNC Summit was one more important step in the process of building and developing the Bryant Neighborhood Center. We are grateful for such a well-attended meeting, with so many enthusiastic and invested members of the Trinity community! Thank you for showing up, sharing your thoughts, and demonstrating how we truly are Here for Good.