What is it?
The Baldwin Center is a human services agency in Pontiac, whose mission is to feed, clothe, educate, and empower disadvantaged men, women, and children through more than 25 programs.
Merged with the Grace and Peace Community Church of Pontiac, the Baldwin Avenue UMC become known as The Baldwin Center in 2006,
It is now a major asset of the Alliance for Urban Ministry, and the Detroit Conference’s Ministry Jubilee has a goal of $80,000 in donations allocated for the center each year.
The Center is a soup kitchen and food and clothing distribution center, it offers English as a Second Language classes and G.E.D courses, and it is a haven for children’s camps, educational programs and after-school activities.
How did it start?
Baldwin Avenue UMC was founded in 1917 and in 1981 Rev. Dr. Patricia Meyers suggested the church open its doors to provide for area children and families on a daily basis.
The Family Kitchen opened a year later, in 1983 an emergency shelter program was initiated and in the 1990s a plethora of youth-related centers and programs were installed.
Since 2002 the center has housed a full-time licensed counselor and community organizations have stepped up sponsorship and support.
Lisa Machesky, the center’s executive director the past two-and-a-half years, said she and her staff are always open to finding out what else the Lord might have in the works.
“One of the things we talk about around here…we know everything’s here, all the connections are here, we just have to find them,” she said. “When we come up with something and say, ‘Oh, I need this,” somehow the next day it comes around, or maybe it’s not the next day, but it’s around here somewhere, we just have to figure out where.”
