Coming Together

BY BRIANNA STEPHENS

The winding roads of McCreary County lead you through a picturesque view of Appalachia.Tall trees line the roads that climb through the hills and valleys with homes and businesses sprinkled here and there along the way. While the scenery is unmatched, Appalachia’s geography can pose a challenge to people living in rural communities.

Set back from the road among a break in the trees is Christian Appalachian Project’s (CAP) Eagle campus, home to the Eagle Food Pantry and Eagle Community Center. Both programs strive to help people in McCreary County be self-sufficient, empowered, and secure in all aspects of life.

“In a rural community, it is important to have a space like this to gather with other people and build a sense of community. I want people to think of this as a connection to the rest of the community and to other critical services that CAP offers,” said Lisa Meldrum, manager of Eagle Food Pantry and Eagle Community Center. “I want this to be a place of safety for families, a place of education and fun for children, and a place for resources for adults.”

While the food pantry serves the community through the distribution of nutritious food, the community center offers services and programming largely for children and their families. The center does so through three components: Infant/Toddler services; Scholastic Preparation, Arts, and Recreation for Kids (SPARK); and community programming.

The Infant/Toddler initiative ensures children from birth to 3 years old receive critical developmental care through a mobile classroom and in-person services on the Eagle campus. Children ages 5 to 17 can participate in SPARK, which offers after-school programming, in-school services to help in local classrooms, as well as field trips and summer programming.

“Through our services, we transform the lives of children in our area,” Meldrum said. “I feel like our youth programs allow children to be inspired and have new opportunities they might not have otherwise. When they come to the community center, they have a space where they can grow and know they are going to receive unconditional love from the employees.”

Meldrum believes the impact made on a child’s life is greater when the whole family is part of the transformation. CAP’s community programming gives adults a space to be empowered, grow confidence, and learn new skills. CAP offers the community center as a space to use for local events or groups, such as a sewing club, and facilitates a variety of groups. A popular group that has gathered at the center for 10 years is a men’s cooking class.

“The men’s cooking class was started because we heard an interest and a need for something like that from our community members. Once a month, men gather to learn cooking skills and new meals to prepare for their families,” Meldrum said. “Our programs are based on the needs we see in our community. In the future, we hope to offer similar programs for grandparents raising grandchildren.”

When thinking of what is next for Eagle Community Center, Meldrum takes the planning and consideration of new programming seriously. She keeps the mission of CAP at the forefront of her mind and wants to emphasize opportunities of transformation.

“We want to show children and adults that they can be more than their circumstances, and I feel like our programs allow them to see that,” Meldrum said. “There is so much good that has happened through our services because of the generosity of our donors. We look forward to the future of Eagle Community Center.”