Ravenna’s King Kennedy Community Center is one step closer to becoming what it was always meant to be: a safe gathering place for people of all ages.
First erected as a small building in 1978 and enlarged about 20 years later, KKCC gained a gymnasium in 2022. Dollars meant for restrooms and a storage area, however, had to be used for a fire-suppression system.
Thanks to $80,000 from the Ravenna Township trustees, $58,000 from the Portage County commissioners and $30,000 from Family & Community Services, Hummel Construction is now adding those restrooms and a storage area.
Though there are restrooms in KKCC’s main building, having them as part of the gymnasium ensures children’s safety, said Frank Hairston, president of the Skeels Improvement Corporation.
“The main reason is accountability: Myia and her staff knowing where everybody is and not having to go back and forth from the main building,” he said, referencing KKCC Program Manager Myia Sanders.
The restrooms also keep older citizens from potential slips and falls during Ohio’s often-inclement weather, said John Kennedy, who, besides being Portage County’s treasurer, is also president of the King Kennedy board of directors.
Kennedy and Hairston often work together to find ways to provide fellowship, community awareness and programming, often in the KKCC gym. Back-to-school events, after-school activities and simple pick-up games have been ongoing, but will be more convenient and accessible with ADA-compliant restrooms, Sanders said.
“That place is full of life now,” Kennedy said. “It’s full of activity. It’s kids, it’s seniors, Boy Scouts, NAACP events. That’s the dream.”
Even without restrooms and storage space, the gym has already become a true gathering place. For example, Sanders and the community group Caring Hands create about a half dozen seniors-only events each year.
Those events stalled during the pandemic, but are slowly picking up steam. Sanders smiled as she recounted stories of friends who hadn’t been social for years reconnecting, often in each other’s arms. Having a DJ providing music during the food-fueled gatherings only adds to the always-festive events.
“Covid took away a lot of things. We wanted to get the seniors out again. They can be in their own space without worrying about different age groups,” Sanders said.
The restrooms will also allow the KKCC board of directors to rent the gym for special events, Hairston said.
A formal ribbon cutting is planned for late August or early September, when community members, the county commissioners, Ravenna trustees, Family & Community Services and other donors and agencies that have made the restrooms and storage area possible will be honored.
With the project almost complete, Hairston, Kennedy and Sanders already have their eyes on Phase 3 of the gym project: adding an air conditioning system. Without it, the gym floor actually becomes dangerously slippery sometimes, Hairston said.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.