Randy Jackson likes to say he’s a product of the Phillis Wheatley Community Center, the community-driven organization at 40 John McCarroll Way that has been providing support, resources and connectivity to Greenville for more than a century.
“I thrived because of it,” Jackson said, recalling his own days as a child growing up with the center as a community hub.
But when he returned to the community center many years later, as a grown man, he found a place that had been lying dormant. There’d been a storm that day, and barrels had been placed around the center to collect the raindrops dripping from the ceiling. Those barrels were merely indications of the trouble the center was facing, which included hundreds of thousands of dollars of financial burdens. Jackson realized something needed to be done.
“Back then, we were trying to be everything to everyone,” said Jackson, who has served as the center’s executive director since 2019. “I realized that’s only because nonprofits do not like to collaborate with one another. But we couldn’t do this alone.”
Thus began a years-long process of changing the very nature of the center — from a place that aims to provide all services on its own, to a place that strives to draw in other partner organizations and services under its roof.
Now in its 104th year, the center is a benchmark of collaboration with its partner agencies.
Phillis Wheatley now helps people find jobs and stability through Greenville Technical College, Goodwill Job Connection, Nicholtown Child and Family Collaborative and SHARE Head Start. Health services are offered regularly from the Prisma Mobile Health Clinic RV, which parks down in the center’s lower campus and does not require insurance. Mental Health Counseling from Innovation Counseling Services is also offered, as is housing aid through United Housing Connections. That’s just the start, with more services ranging from addiction recovery help to counseling for returning citizens leaving prison.
Soon a commercial kitchen and senior fitness park are both scheduled to open to the public, further expanding the center’s services.
“We want to get to the root cause of problems,” Jackson said. “That takes partnerships. You can’t do it on your own.”
Last year at a glance
Saw 27,000+ visitors- Hosted 135 kids through youth summer programs
- Staged more than 26 hours of life theatre through its Repertory Theatre for students aged 10-18
- Assisted 75 families with food and housing
- 725 people found jobs through employment assistance services
What’s next?
- Senior fitness and recreation center (450% complete)
- Healthy living kitchen (80% complete)
- Student learning lounge (25% complete)
