Mission

The mission of The Randolph Community Center Project is to plan and develop a multiple function community center for the people of Randolph, MA. The Community Center will be a primary locus of programs and activities.

 Vision

The vision of the Randolph Community Center Project is to develop a state-of-the-art community center to serve a broad array of needs.  The Project has produced a needs assessment using a community action research approach; it now engages more than 110 residents interested in creating a Community Center.

 The Need for a Community Center

◦ Randolph is among the most ethnically and racially diverse communities in the state.  Thirty-eight percent of its 31,000 residents are people of color.  As of 2000, nearly 22% of the town's population was foreign-born and 27% spoke a language other than English at home.

◦ Greater Randolph lacks a social or community “hub”—a YMCA, Boys and Girls Club, or other central gathering place for families and individuals.  Randolph’s cultural groups, support groups, and independent  athletic leagues have no central location for registration, meetings, or administrative offices.

◦ The current Youth Center is not easily accessible to downtown or via public transportation, and both the Youth Center and Senior Center need significant capital improvements. At public meetings in autumn 2004, residents expressed strong desires to have intergenerational and family programs in one setting.

◦ In June 2004, Randolph’s Board of Selectmen authorized an initiative to begin development of a Community Center.  In November 2004, the Selectmen authorized a site of preference for the Community Center—rehabilitation and expansion of the current Senior Center—and approved establishment of a Community Center Project Steering Committee.

◦ To date, the Randolph Community Center Project has run two visioning conferences and a community dialogue. (The conferences were the first public meetings in Randolph’s history to provide childcare and interpretation services in multiple languages.) The Project also runs an online discussion group and two websites. Plans are under way to separately incorporate the Community Center as a 501(c)(3).

◦ To date, the Randolph Community Center Project has operated entirely with private funding.  Without further support, funding for the Project will run out on December 31^st, 2004.  In order to maintain momentum, the Randolph Community Center Project needs $500,000 over three years to manage incorporation, support a long-term financial development plan and capital campaign feasibility study, undertake further space needs research, proceed with architectural consultation, and, most importantly, continue frequent and direct involvement of people throughout greater Randolph.