By Roby Foree, Citizen Journalist
Lexington’s Best Kept Secret?
One of many historical buildings in downtown Lexington at Gratz Park has probably caught your eye at least once, but you may not know what it is. The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning is what today exists in the beautiful building that was once home to Lexington’s Carnegie Library. Like the library before it, today’s center is reading and learning focused. What many do not know is that it heavily incorporates the second “r” as well. Writing workshops and retreats are organized by the center and are often led by some of Kentucky’s own notable authors. The building even houses a resource room for writers, stacked floor to ceiling of books on writing and similar topics.
Laura Whitaker came to the Center four years ago as an Americorps volunteer – an organization that still provides many volunteers for the center today. After realizing what an impact the center had on the community, she decided to make it her home and now works full-time as the Volunteer Coordinator. She says that the biggest challenge for the center today is transportation of children to and from the center. With the after-school tutoring and other programs for children, the reality is that the building is a bit away from where most students attend school. Plans for expanding in the future include more outreach into the schools and neighboring counties to help combat this. Still, she says that the Lexington community is the essential piece to continuing the center’s great success, and that volunteers and donations are both continually needed.
No matter the age, the Carnegie Center has something for everyone. This summer will see the continuation of camps for middle school aged children. The camps are still taking applications through May. In the past they have taught on exciting topics such as cooking and comic book creation. A writer’s showcase on May 7th is one of many exciting activities that will kick off the summer for the Carnegie Center. Check out their website at carnegieliteracy.org to see the schedule of events for the summer, sign up for their newsletter, or to find out how you can volunteer!
