Grace Community Center hosts open houses for event coordinators
With more than 12,000 square feet of space and the ability to host up to 1,000 guests, Grace Community Center is one of the largest halls for special events in Lee County. By hosting events, officials said they can continue much needed outreach programs in the North Fort Myers and north Cape Coral area.
Local event coordinators were invited to learn about the facility in a two-day open house series recently held at the center.
“Our facility holds up to 1,000 for a dance, 600 for a concert or lecture and 400 for dining,” said director Chris Jackson.
The center features a state-of-the-art sound system, three large wall-mounted video screens and projection systems.
Jackson hopes to book many business and banquet events.
“We’ve been pretty lucky already,” he said. “We’ve hosted a variety of events, including Ida S. Baker’s High School Prom, fund-raising dinners, craft shows and county-wide middle school dances. We also have booked up several proms and homecomings for the coming year.”
Kim and Baron Cohen from Cohen & Cohen Catering were two of the local event vendors who donated their time and food for those attending the open houses.
“The rebuilding of Lee County is going to have to start with family, houses of worship and school. That’s why we think helping here is important,” said Baron Cohen.
Other vendors set elegant tables and brought floral arrangements to show what an event could look like in the center.
Jackson said funds for events will support the programs of the Grace Community Center.
“That’s including our food bank, our blanket ministry, our GED program, youth programs and other community outreaches,” he said.
The center opened in November 2008.
“We’ve done food distributions since opening,” he said. “Since the beginning of this year, we’ve given out over 14,000 pounds of food to 1,174 guests and given away 2,345 articles of clothing to 247 guests.”
The Thrift Store is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We’ve targeting the third Saturday of each month as the hub of a lot of our community outreach programs there,” said Jackson. That includes the food distribution day to those in need in the area.
The center is located at 4151 Hancock Bridge Parkway, at the corner of Orange Grove Boulevard and Hancock Bridge Parkway in the former Winn-Dixie Store location.
For more information, call 574-7161, or visit egracenter.org.