BELLOWS FALLS — Parks Place Community Resource Center will host an open house celebration marking their 20 years of service to the community on Thursday, Sept. 10, from 4 to 7 p.m.
There will be a presentation from the Bellows Falls Middle School band and tours given by their volunteer board members. A brief program begins at 4:45 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be offered, followed by a birthday cake and ice cream, and activities for children and families.
The agency was conceived in 1992 when a group of concerned citizens from local schools, agencies and towns looked for ways to provide support to children and families.
Parks Place officially opened its doors on June 1, 1995, and that year more than 1,300 individual visits were made to 18 different programs housed at Parks Place.
Twenty years later, more than 6,000 individual visits were made to 35 different programs such as the Helping Hand Counseling Center, Job Club, Youth Services, and Vocational Rehabilitation.
Founded to promote collaboration and link the schools, human services. and community groups, “Parks Place is a hub that provides community members a safe and accessible location to make lasting, positive changes in their lives,” according to a news release. “It has become a staging ground to improve the summer lunch program, to expand access to mental health counseling, to protect children from lead poisoning, and to enhance the future of youth through an innovative Ready by 21 initiative to ensure healthy outcomes for children from birth to 21.”