One of the oldest nonprofits in Bloomington is celebrating its 95th birthday this year with a new leader at the helm.
Mary Tackett took over as Western Avenue Community Center’s executive director in June, but she’s not new to the organization. She actually interned at Western Avenue as a college student in 2011, working with its Hispanic outreach program. She later became a bilingual educator.
“I grew up in a small town in Iowa, and there wasn’t a lot of diversity where I grew up. That (internship) was my very first introduction in working with the Hispanic community,” said Tackett. “I saw how (Hispanic Outreach Director) Socorro Alvarez and the other Hispanic outreach staff interacted with the community and how they built these really strong relationships. The community trusted them. And I was really, really inspired and excited about that.”
Indeed, Hispanic outreach remains one of the service pillars at Western Avenue. That includes case management work, bilingual counseling, and interpretation and translation services.
One reason the work is more important than ever: Today, the Hispanic population accounts for 40% of those in poverty in McLean County, according to Western Avenue.
Tackett’s empathy comes in part from her three years living in Spain. She acknowledged having a lot of privilege—financial stability, education, knowing the language. And she did it by choice. And it was still hard.
Many immigrants come to the U.S. without those things. That can be “terrifying,” Tackett said.
“That trust piece is critical. You’re coming into this country, you’re trying to start a new life. If there’s one person that says they care about you and they’ll help you—I hope that takes a lot of stress away, to know that you’re safe. That when you come to (the Western Avenue Community Center) we’ll help you the best we can,” Tackett said.
Western Avenue’s other big programs are focused on youths and seniors. That includes a teen summer program and martial arts program for kids. Seniors gather for bingo and card games and movie days, as well as fitness classes.
The center also played a prominent role in attacking food insecurity during the pandemic. It’s still distributing about 300 food boxes every month, with help from the Tinervin Family Foundation.
Western Avenue’s financial outlook is a lot better now than it was two years ago, when its board put out an urgent plea for community fundraising to stay afloat, said Tackett. Tackett said she plans to grow her grant-writing skills, and the center is considering a new endowment fund as a pathway for community support.
The biggest challenge, Tackett said, is “transition and change.” There have been several leaders in the executive director role, she said. There have been changes to “people, programs and procedures,” she said, some of it tied to the disruptive pandemic.
“There’s some disconnect from people about what we do and who we are. So a challenge for me is to work through that transition with my staff, and to figure out where are we going, what is our plan, and showing that plan to the public as well,” Tackett said. “I want us to be a (place) that people know about, instead of just word-of-mouth. … I don’t want us to be a secret. I want us at the forefront of resources.”
Western Avenue Community Center will celebrate its 95th birthday on Aug. 14, with a bike clinic from 10 a.m. to noon, and then a block party from 12-4 p.m.
