101 years and going strong: Peoria's Carver Center reimagined with new leader, programs

PEORIA – A lot has changed in the 101 years since the Negro Community Center, the organization that became George Washington Carver Center, was founded by The Colored Women’s Aid Club.

Created as a community center for area families, the organization grew rapidly. In 1937 they moved from their original home at 108 S. Globe St. to a bigger home at 1010 Sanford. Two years later they joined a community-wide fundraising effort that led to the erection of the building at 710 W. Percy Baker Ave. and a name change.

All the way up into the 1990s, Carver Center was a bustling place, but changes in society and the neighborhood surrounding the center led to a decline in use. In 2011, after a series of financial setbacks, the board closed the center.

The closure was a sad thing for many people. The center held many happy memories and history. One of Peoria’s most famous residents, Richard Pryor, first performed on the Carver Center stage. It was where many young people had their first job, including the parents of Carver CEO Jacobie Proctor. Nostalgia helped drive the effort to re-imagine Carver Center.

"In 2012 we did a $1.5 million renovation. We added a state-of-the-art sound system to the original Richard Pryor stage,” Proctor said. "They re-organized the classrooms and the office spaces so that the building flowed — added the glass facade and extra classrooms, re-did the gym floors and moved the front entryway.”

The renovation was completed in 2014, and Proctor was hired as director in 2020. The former director of program development with the Boys and Girls Club, the Peoria native had worked in the corporate world early in her career.

"I worked at Caterpillar for a little bit, and in 2008 when they were doing rolling shutdowns, I was like, ‘you know, I don't know if the corporate world is for me.’ And I went to Atlanta and trained with Boys and Girls Club of America. Then I came back here and worked at Boys and Girls Club for 12 years,” Proctor said.

'We are a family here'

Proctor was offered the lead position at Carver during the pandemic.

"We took that dormant season while the buildings were closed because of the shutdown to really look at Carver’s programing,” she said.

Administrators looked closely at programs offered all over the community to see how Carver could help fill in gaps, Proctor said.

"We want to collaborate, not compete. It’s been our motto, and that is what we are doing. We looked at Valeska Hinton and saw they have a waiting list (for child care). And we looked at PCCO and saw they have a waiting list from 3 to 5 p.m. And we said ‘can we help with that?’ So we opened up a classroom,” said Proctor.

Child care and early childhood education are not the only programs offered at Carver, however. There are programs for people of all ages. Fitness activities happen in the facility’s large gymnasium, and a wide variety of classes help people further their skills, from job and life skills to recreational activities like crochet. Seasonal activities, like the annual Easter egg hunt, are also a big hit.

After a rough patch, Carver is alive and well, and continuing the original goal set 101 years ago by the organization’s founders to uplift the community.

"We are a family here, and I think when you meet a past Carver kid, they are our family, too. When they come in they talk about the nostalgia — ‘we used to dance here, we ate here, Percy did this and Irma did this.’ I could not be a true Carver leader if I did not take this into consideration," said Proctor. “We created programs going forward, that have a lasting legacy on people. You don’t want it to be that you came in here and did some skate classes — we want it to be that you came in here and you met friends, and you met your fitness goals, and you talked to a doctor, and then you learned to skate. These are the things we try to do – we want everyone to have a meaningful experience.”

Leslie Renken can be reached at (309) 370-5087 or lrenken@pjstar.com. Follow her on Facebook.com/leslie.renken.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Carver Center going strong with new leader after 101 years in Peoria