Guadalupe-Parkway Neighborhood Centers to Celebrate 50th Anniversary

An area organization will celebrate its golden anniversary.

The 50^th anniversary of service by the Guadalupe-Parkway Sommerville Centers, a member agency of the Lubbock Area United Way, will be commemorated with a ceremony next week.

According to a press release, the organization began in 1962, when Nelda Thompson, a longtime leader of the local United Way, and Barbara Sommerville, a community volunteer, began working toward providing educational services to migrant workers moving into the Guadalupe Neighborhood, located east of Avenue Q and north of Fourth Street.

The organization has grown from a barracks building in Guadalupe Park to two permanent facilities that help more than 140 school-aged children, mainly in north and east Lubbock neighborhoods.

The group’s services originally included reading and writing English, as well as sewing, cooking, and assistance with job applications, and have grown to include after-school care, tutoring, career planning, and recreational activities for children.

A public celebration of the organization’s 50^th anniversary will be held from 3:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. Thursday, September 13^th at the Guadalupe Center, located at 123 North Avenue U.