You can begin to see the structure of our new community center rising out of the ground. Blue sky and clear grounds allows construction workers to move quickly. Steel arrived on the Tolson site the first full week of February and within a two weeks time most of the steel is up and in place.

We are very excited to announce that the Tolson Center for Community Excellence is once again partnering with INOVA in 2023 to provide financial empowerment services to our community. The sessions will no longer be held in a group setting but move to being 1-on-1 sessions.

It has been a year of milestones. We are beginning to see our dreams and visions come into fruition as we have begun the lay the (figurative and literal) groundwork for the new Tolson Center for Community Excellence.

It is said that “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” As we survey all that has happened in the last few months, and the last few years, we are filled with both joy and gratitude. One week past this year’s Giving Tuesday, and as we look ahead to the end of the year and the various celebrations that lie ahead, we just want to say thank you.

Financial Wellness workshops will be held every Tuesday from 4pm-5pm starting October 18th at the Historic Roosevelt Center here in Elkhart. These workshops are brought to you by Inova Federal Credit Union. Each participant will be entered to win a gas card or a Martins gift card.

The board of the Tolson Center for Community Excellence announced Monday, October 10, 2022, the hiring of Lois Mason, as executive assistant. She is the second full-time staff member of the Tolson Center for Community Excellence. Tolson’s Executive Director, Breanna Allen, Ed.D., was appointed in March 2022.

It has been an absolute joy to work with Meticulous. In the early phases of their concept development, they provided the following executive summary in envisioning the New Tolson Center for Community Excellence. “We understand the Tolson Center for Community Excellence is a fully encompassing community center for all ages, youth to senior, and should reflect an authentic yet elevated architectural look respective of the community.”

The reality of a new building of this size and scope is that we will be relying on the generosity of the City of Elkhart, private investors and all of our community. As an independent organization from the city, we have fundraising and capital campaigns in the works to ensure that we’re broadening our financial foundation.

With any major construction project, there is a lot to consider and people have a lot of questions. We intend to live into our high value for transparency and want to address some of the questions that have been voiced in our community.

Many in our community have reached out to remark on the absence of what stood for over 30 years. There is a mix of sadness and excitement. We want to share what has been imagined thus far, and what is coming as we begin the remarkable next chapter for Tolson.