Hallie Q. Brown Community Center, Incorporated

The Hallie Q. Brown Youth Enrichment program provides out-of-school time programming and learning activities for school-aged students. The program:

-Is open both before and after school, along with full days during the summer and on school release days
-Is licensed through the state of Minnesota
-Is available for students ages 5 through 11
-Engages students in organized activities designed to enhance academic performance, strengthen leadership skills and build community pride
-Partners with a variety of local organizations to expose students to new experiences and educational opportunities.

The Hallie Q. Brown Food Shelf and Clothing Closet operate on a client-choice model and strive to assist families in achieving self-sufficiency and empowerment through providing basic needs of food and clothing.

-The Food Shelf Client Area serves residents from three zip codes, primarily in and around the Summit-University neighborhood.
-The Food Shelf Community Area serves residents from nineteen zip codes, primarily in and around the Twin Cities metro area.
-The Clothing Closet provides free clothing and small household items for families in the Twin Cities metro area.
-Both programs also administer a broad range of emergency, referral and other support services.

Services in 2017

Client area:
18,677 individuals served
8,102 households served
560,310 pounds of food served in the client area

Community area:
26,784 individuals served
10,893 households served
145,545 pounds of food served in the community area

Holiday baskets:
500 = (300 Thanksgiving / 200 Winter Holiday)
12,500 pounds of food given in holiday baskets

Total:
Total pounds of food served in food shelf = 718,355

Hallie Q. Brown Community Center serves as a gathering place for seniors to enhance their independence through connection to services and activities. Our most active programs are The Magnificent Golden Agers, Retired Men’s Club and OASIS. All groups meet at the center and are always welcoming new members.

The Golden Agers began in 1940 as the "Boys and Girls of Yesterday." They are a group of women who grew up at or were otherwise involved with Hallie Q. over the years. Membership starts at the Speed Limit (55), and they are always open for new members. Rechristened the Magnificent Golden Agers, the group meets twice a month on Tuesdays to socialize, share stories and information, discuss issues, play Bingo and much more.

The Retired Men's Club is a "Friendly Club" that meets twice a month on Thursdays to share stories and information, socialize and connect. Like the Golden Agers, the Club is comprised mostly, though not exclusively, of men who grew up or worked at Hallie Q or the surrounding Rondo community. Membership is for those who are retired.

OASIS (Older Adults Supporting Interacting Socialization) provides classes and activities for seniors looking to stay active and engaged.

The Martin Luther King Multi-Service Center provides a multi-faceted service delivery to the community. Programs, classes, cultural events and special projects originate from this facility. The agencies providing these services and programs recognize and work to meet the diverse social, cultural and educational needs of their constituents. In addition to the groups using the facility for various program needs, the Martin Luther King Center is the permanent home for additional agencies/organizations.  HQB provides coordination for these programs and organizations in regards to their offerings at the Martin Luther King Center ranging from simple space rental to fiscal agency and program coordination.  The overall impact is a greater amount of resources being available to the community at one location.

The Hallie Q. Brown Archive project is  a collaborative and impactful initiative that will serve as the hub of cultural and historical exchange for one of the Midwest’s most important facets of African American history.

The growing History Archive Project, which kicked off two years ago as a collaborative effort between HQB and the University of Minnesota. This project is informed by, in concert with and complementary to the efforts of numerous local stakeholders, most notably the Minnesota Historical Society, a source of guidance and collaborative resource development; Rondo Avenue Inc., whose work with the local history has done more than any other to revive the Rondo neighborhood; onsite seniors groups, who recognize the urgency of collecting their stories and honoring the Rondo neighborhood as it once was; and the University of Minnesota, whose expertise and sharing has made the renewed Archive possible. With these strong partners, among others from organizations and community, the Archive initiatives are poised to take off in a lasting, powerful way.

Although the destruction of the Rondo community effectively reset the clock on historic placemaking, the current incarnation of the 89 year old Center is itself worthy of historic designation and is a natural hub for historical archives. Its central location, extensive collections and trusted, welcoming hosting of many stakeholder groups mean that HQB can, with appropriate resources, preserve not only nearly 100 years of institutional history, but that of its families and constituents. There is the critical mass of partners: Macalester College, Saint Paul Neighborhood Network, students from area high schools, and the Department of Heritage Studies among other University of Minnesota entities. Each partner brings invaluable in-kind resources, technical knowhow, and service hours to the table.

Not only will future generations gain a hand in its preservation, learning technical skills along the way, but will derive a unique sense of power and ownership through this Archive project that can only be attained through direct contact with HQB history.