From food and clothing to affordable housing, Sabathani remains a south Minneapolis beacon
MINNEAPOLIS -- Sabathani Community Center is one of Minnesota's oldest African American-founded nonprofits. It's also a place that counts on volunteers and Xcel Energy's Day of Service.
Established in 1966 to provide youth development opportunities and a forum for community advocacy, it has grown into a beacon of light for more than 32,000 south Minneapolis residents to tackle barriers in their lives each year.
Scott Redd, president and CEO of Sabathani, says the organization is focused on bringing the community voice back into Sabathani, featuring programs done with them and not to them.
"It's the heart of south Minneapolis," Scott Redd said. "My vison is that we attack aggressively the disparities that this city has seen and state has seen."
Redd says Sabathani is working to make life better for the people it serves by feeding families.
"The number of people that we are serving is constantly going up week by week, so we know that we need to do more," he said.
The neighborhood food shelf first opened in 1975. Because South Minneapolis is increasingly become more diverse, Sabathani must give away culturally sensitive food. Volunteers help make sure those who come get what they need.
"Just before you all came in, we had two back-to-back 80-pounders, people who got 80 pounds of food," volunteer Sherrie Greene said.
The food shelf also makes monthly food deliveries to area seniors. About a million pounds of food is distributed annually.
From food to clothes, Sabathani's Clothing Closet is also seeing an increase in use, whether it's clothes for work or for school.
"Folks can come in here and get as much as they want we depend on the community to give us donations," Redd said. "A lot of folks in our workforce strategy program take advantage of this as well."
Another part of Sabathani's mission is providing affordable housing for seniors.
"Our seniors wanted to stay in this community. We heard that they were feeling isolated when they were forced to go out to the suburban areas, that they weren't connected the community, they weren't connected to their churches, to their friends," Redd said.
A 48-unit affordable housing unit opened earlier this year, making it possible for southside seniors to stay in the community they love.
"We worked hard to make sure that that building that was attached to Sabathani be attached to this community, and folks would be able to stay there at an affordable rate," Redd said.
More housing is on the way, with 72 units of affordable housing to be built next to Sabathani's home base, cementing its place as a beacon of hope for all who walk through the door.
Sabathani's building is the renovated and former Bryant Junior High School. It is now a focal point of cultural identity, empowerment and social change. It continues to address social, economic and health disparities in the community.