Trinity United Methodist Church

The Trinity swimming pool that was used by many for over 70 years had to be closed 8 years ago because it was impossible to continue maintaining it.  It is the dream of the church to convert this currently unused space into a handicapped accessible community room to be enjoyed by the many neighborhood groups that use the church.  This additional community space will allow us to further our outreach into the neighborhood.

Trinity would like to expand its neighborhood outreach but is hindered by lack of handicapped accessible space in the building.  The proposed room would allow more than one large group to use the building at a time.  It is the dream of Trinity to offer ESL classes to more immigrants, as well as to offer adult educational opportunities to help prepare neighborhood immigrants for jobs and to help acclimate them to Springfield.

Currently Trinity has partnerships with many community and neighborhood groups including Forest Park Middle School, Sumner Ave. Elementary School, Children's Chorus of Springfiled, Jewish Family Service, JFON (Justice for Our Neighbors) and others.  Our ability to serve the communiity is limited by available space in the building.  Construction of a new handicapped accessible community room will greatly expand our neighborhood outreach.

Trinity has a long history of partnerships with Forest Park Middle School.  For many years prior to closing the swimming pool, students used the pool as part of their physical education classes.  Currently the church has developed an after school program open to the students. Trinity provides a safe environment for them to have a snack, receive homework help, participate in a variety of creative activities, and foster friendships with other students three days per week.

In addition, the Children's Chorus of Springfield uses the building one afternoon per week for practice and also holds their performances in the building.  

Jewish Family Service uses Trinity to offer ESL and Driver Education classes for refugees resettled by JFS, as well as citizenship classes for all who are eligible for U S citizenship.

Twice per month JFON (Justice For Our Neighbors) - a partnership with Community Legal Services - holds meetings to help immigrants find the help they need for navigating the system with all services from applying for a green card to applying for citizenship.

Trinity has a partnership with Sumner Ave. Elementary School and last year provided space for them to present their end of the year musical.  This was well attended by parents and others from the neighborhood.

The new community room will be available for Springfield Elder Care, Golden Agers, and as a potential blood donor center for the Red Cross.  None of these groups can currently use the building because of the lack of accessibility for all.

The estimated cost of creating this community room with attached handicapped accessible restrooms is $400,000.  Thus far we have raised approximately $100,000 and are in the process of applying for grants.

Your donation will help expedite this process and enable Trinity to become a more viable presence in the community as we seek to expand our outreach to neighborhood groups.