Our Vision
In 2018, a group of local citizens partnered with the Town of Pulaski, the YMCA of Pulaski County, and the Pulaski County Department of Social Services to establish the Calfee Training School Project. The historic Calfee Training School has been sitting empty for 10 years. Despite operating for almost a century, the School’s existence and its significance to the history of Pulaski are largely unknown outside the local African American community.
The Calfee Community and Cultural Center (CCCC) will:
Honor the rich history of Calfee Training School and increase awareness of local African American history by establishing and operating a museum in the facility and other interpretive elements throughout the building and grounds;
Provide spaces for multi-generational social, educational and cultural programming to families and individuals in the New River Valley and visitors to our region by:
Housing the Chauncey and Lucy Harmon Learning Center which will provide much needed early childhood education opportunities in Pulaski County’s childcare desert;
Strengthening the local food economy and food security through housing the Lena Huckstep Community Kitchen;
Connecting Pulaski County residents to basic and advanced digital literacy skills and internet access through the Dorothy DeBerry Venable Digital Learning Lab;
Serving as a community resource center by offering office space to social service and mental health organizations as well as small businesses; and
Providing technologically equipped multipurpose spaces for a range of social, cultural, and professional gatherings.
Connect community leaders, organizations, and families to more effectively work across organizational, racial, generational, and class lines.