Liberian Association of Worcester County fundraising for community center down payment
(Telegram.con | WORCESTER) – The Liberian community of Worcester County has grown from about seven people to more than 7,000 in the last 30 years, and now it is time to find it a home.
“A community center is a place we can call our own,” said Charles Allison, president of the Liberian Association of Worcester County, which is holding an event Saturday to raise money for such a center. “It’s a place that can provide a meeting place, and a place for people to meet socially.”
The Liberian Association of Worcester County – a nonprofit, non-political and non-tribal organization dedicated to helping members of the Liberian community adjust to life in the United States – will hold a fundraiser at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Good Times Villa hall, 1023 Main St., in Worcester.
The goal is lofty – $100,000 for a down payment for a community center – but admission is $10 per person, and organizers are asking for a $100 donation per person, and a $500 donation from Liberian churches.
Mr. Allison said that a community center has been a longtime goal of the association, which was formed about a decade ago to provide community and services for Liberian immigrants in Worcester County.
That immigration began in earnest with the Liberian Civil War in 1989, when many residents fled the West African nation and were resettled in Worcester County, Mr. Allison explained. The war lasted until 1997 with the election of Charles Taylor as the first president of the country. But the peace was short-lived and a second civil war broke out from 1999 to 2003.
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