The Life Enrichment Center works with various partners throughout the Dayton area to provide help for the underserved in the community, according to the organization.
Educational and Bible classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; job training workshops; a health and fitness center; and a computer lab are just a few of the services the community center offers.
Some of the most popular programs are hot meals and food distribution.
Lee Snead, director of volunteer services at the Life Enrichment Center, said that although food isn’t the most important service they offer, it’s crucial.
“Food is a hook,” Snead said. “It opens a door for people to get to know us.”
Funding and having enough food to distribute are perennial issues at the Life Enrichment Center. The center occasionally experiences difficulties getting help to those in need, but that doesn’t stop it from running.
“We always seem to be able to provide services,” Snead said. “We always make do with what we have.”
The community center is open to anyone who shows up.
Jeff Sorrell, vice president and executive director of the Life Enrichment Center, said they have a wide range of visitors.
“Our clientele range anywhere from the homeless to senior citizens on a fixed income and anywhere in between,” Sorrell said. “Anyone can come. All they need is a picture ID.”
The services provided are not limited to adults. Programs for children include a safety village for third-graders and younger, and the “earn a bike” program in which children learn to repair recycled bikes and receive a bike at the end of the program.
The community has been very receptive of the Life Enrichment Center and the work it does. “I see it in their reactions and comments,” Snead said. “It’s like a breath of fresh air. We don’t make you jump through hoops to receive our services.”
The center’s 110 individual volunteers and 35 groups make those reactions possible.
The positive response is worth the hard work of the volunteers. “The best part for me is seeing the changes in peoples lives and the successes we’ve had,” Sorrell said.
Community involvement keeps the Life Enrichment Center running, but center staff said financial contributions are needed to continue services to those in need in the Dayton area.
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