PCYC’s Summer Children’s Theater 2005 cast of “The Sound of the Rain.”  
- Photo by Mary Gemlo.

Setting the Stage
A Report to the Community

Sometimes it’s the basics.  Our staff is competent. Our new buildings are lovely and comfortable.  Our programs are sound.  Our board is tops. Our friends and supporters are loyal. Our Five Year Strategic Plan is mostly achieved.  We have chosen some retrenchment. What we do, we do well.  Our major partners --- the schools, the United Way , our neighbors, other community centers --- value our contributions and our competence.

Yet we cannot stand still. The city and the neighborhood are changing around us. Three Northside schools are closing. Major transportation improvements may transform our part of West Broadway. The mayor of Minneapolis has enunciated his own vision for our neighborhood, and it includes our refurbishing the Capri Theatre with enriched programming.

We might wish we could take a few months or a year off to catch our breath. Many of us would like to step off stage, so to speak, and let the next scene play without us. But we can’t.  The stage has been cleared of its old props.   We need to build new sets to support our work in the community. Now is not the time to rest.

1. We are creating and will soon begin to implement a bold new three-year fund-raising plan.

2. We have joined with five other organizations through the Metropolitan Alliance of Community Centers. Together we are combining several administrative functions into one Management Service Organization to achieve efficiencies and organizational strength.  PCYC’s Mike Johnson is playing a significant role in the new operation.

3. New stars in program leadership have begun to take center stage: Kathleen Butts and David Tarleton now head up the Alternative School, and Karen Goodenough leads the Youth and Family Programs.

4. We will launch a strategic planning process this spring to set our priorities for the next three years. This plan will detail how we will recognize the change in our neighborhood and how we will help create an environment in which children can thrive and adults can take their places as productive members of the community. 

5. The Capri Theatre will have its own renaissance.

Using the theater metaphor to summarize, the work of the staff and board in 2005 has been to set the stage for the next act in the developing drama of PCYC.  New players are joining the cast – staff, volunteers, public officials, colleagues, funders, youth and families.  The strategic planning process this spring will write the script and build new scenery. In the fall, we will bring up the curtain. 

Thanks to all of you who support and applaud our work.  Thanks also to the children, youth and families of North Minneapolis who invite us into their lives and neighborhoods as partners.  You are our audience, our stage, our critics, our music, and our inspiration.  Together we will continue to thrive.

Anne Little Long                      Mark Hegman
Executive Director                  President, PCYC Board of Directors