Westside Community Center ~ The Legacy of the Community

The Westside Community  Center is a non-profit community-based organization whose members are  committed to enhancing the quality of life of underserved citizens in  our community. In June 1990, the formerly Old @estside High School  closed its' doors, ending a nostalgic era in the life of the school and  its' relation to community needs. In May 1991, a group of concerned  citizens under the leadership of Dr. Beatrice Thompson, a former  teacher, and counselor in the closed school, met and organized for the  purpose of acquiring the abandoned school with the goal of renovating  the facility designed to provide programs and services to assist in  meeting the needs of citizens in an underserved community.

In September 1991, the  group was formally chartered as a charitable non-profit organization  with the help of many facets of the Anderson community, including Old  Westside High Alumni, parents, teachers, concerned citizens, churches,  along with the support and cooperation of local government, businesses  and industry, and many other community agencies, most notably An-Med  Health. Then, the work began. The proposed mission was to renovate the  facility and house programs and activities determined to be most crucial  in decreasing negative factors in the community and replace them with  programs that would provide healthy growth and improved self-esteem  along with self-sufficiency to assist in these proposed efforts. WCC  formed partnerships with agencies willing to locate programs in the  facility and work together as multi-service providers.

In August 1998, The  Westside Community Center officially opened its' doors with AnMed  Medical Clinic, an Anderson City Police sub-station, and an outreach  program of The Anderson County Health Department. Renovations, services,  and programs have continued to grow over the years, which led to the  addition of more than 18 programs including child care, adult education,  job training, counseling services, recreation programs, just to name a  few. The success of these programs and their impact on the community has  led to other improvements in the community including upgraded streets  and infrastructure, improved community relations, improved coordination  of community services, with one of the most obvious being improved  housing with a large housing development that sits adjacent to The  Westside Community Center.

We are proud of the  successes that we have made since our opening in 1998 which is due to  the commitment and hard work of the staff, board members, community  support, and partnerships. However, we are still a "work in progress"  and continue our mission to enhance the quality of life for citizens in  our community. As we move forward, we continue to seek financial  assistance for the improvement of our programs. We continue to seek  funding through fundraisers, grants, and financial donations. We are  most appreciative of everyone's ongoing moral financial support as we  strive to achieve our mission of service and commitment to make a  positive difference in the lives of citizens in our community,  remembering that "together we serve".