Lynn R

Concord Neighborhood Center

Concord Neighborhood Center has been serving near-Southside families since 1875. The agency's mission is: "To provide opportunities that advance the education, health, well-being and independence for near-Southside families." Concord offers six core programs: nationally accredited early learning, school-aged youth development, comprehensive teenage development, family social services, older adult enrichment, and HIV care coordination. Nutrition and transportation are auxiliary services of the six core programs, including an on-site deli, The Dynki. The agency serves over 2,000 people annually. Our History Concord was founded as Indiana's first settlement house in 1875 by the American Turners, a German membership organization. Beginning in the 1910s, the Jewish Welfare Federation assumed management of the agency, as the Communal Building. The Communal Building offered English, naturalization, and enrichment classes, as well as childcare programs. From 1870 to 1940s, industrial growth created demand for jobs filled by those early immigrant families and African American and Appalachian families who moved north. The community was cohesive and vibrant, thanks to a highly skilled and diverse workforce that operated small businesses and provided specialized services. In 1946, the Communal Building was established as part of the Community Fund (United Way) and the Council of Social Agencies, as an interracial, non‐sectarian agency. In 1954, it was renamed Concord Center Association, Inc. From the early 1960s to 1982, Concord was a member organization of Indianapolis Settlements, Inc. (ISI) and then Community Centers of Indianapolis (CCI), to which it belonged until CCI's dissolution in 2004. At that time, Concord's independent 501(c)3 status was restored. In 2016, Lilly Endowment, Inc. awarded Concord a $5 million grant for the creation of an endowment.