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History
In May of 2002 First Christian Church acquired the Edgewood Golf Course property to build a new church building. First Christian Church has been a part of Canton for well over 100 years and was once one of the largest Christian churches in the country with a membership of over 5000… About 10 years ago John Hampton helped spur new growth to the point where we were quickly out growing our current space at 2600 Cleveland Ave. John cast a vision for relocation that interested Malone college to the point that they eventually bought our facility and made this move possible.
The acquisition of the Edgewood Golf Course property began a journey that has inspired an exciting vision for enriching the spiritual, emotional and physical health of the local community in innovative and relevant ways. We didn’t want to be just an inward focused church. We wanted to create a campus that would serve everyone in the community from all walks of life.
Part of the original vision was maintaining a nine whole golf course and practice facility that would continue to serve the community. We upgraded the driving range and redesigned the golf course making it family friendly for people of all ages and still challenging for the avid golfer.
Other discussions by the church ranged from a sports & recreation facility, an arts venue, a café, and a bookstore…and the list continues to grow to this day. Today we are seeing many of these exciting dreams to serve our community come true as part of the Edgewood Campus. You can go to www.EdgewoodCampus.com for more information.
In late 2003 the Jefferies Co. made First Christian Church an offer to receive, free of charge, enough steel to build an 80,000 square foot community building. The steel was originally slated for the Massillon Hockey Rink that fell through.
Being excited about fulfilling our community vision we proceeded to have discussions with leaders from numerous local nonprofits, schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals about partnering to serve the community. The discussions centered on development of a modern community wellness, meeting, and recreational facility designed to meet the needs of today’s active families as well as those of the church. The response was overwhelmingly positive but unfortunately the construction and operational costs for the venture were not feasible. In early 2004 we declined the offer for the steel.
In late 2004 FCC was blessed with a $1 million donation from a church member that was designated to build a youth building. Although this was an extremely generous gift that insured the church youth would have the space they needed, everyone agreed it would not build a very big facility at today’s construction costs.
During this entire process First Christian Church created the necessary separate legal entities for developing the Edgewood property. We needed to decide who would own and operate the golf course as well as other future developments such as a possible community center one day. It was at this point Thousand Hills Enterprises, one of those entities, decided to apply for available federal funds to help build a larger more effective community center that would meet the needs of our local community. Approximately 9 months later in late 2005 Thousand Hills received approval for a construction grant from HUD in the amount of $750,000.00. With this grant, the million dollar donation, and the generosity of First Christian Church who supplied the land, Thousand Hills Enterprises built the new Edgewood Community Center.
The project has since been turned over to a new non-profit corporation called “The Edgewood Community Project” which is completely independent from the church, with its own board of directors from the community. The Edgewood Community Project will administer day to day operation of the community center.
The Board of Directors of the Edgewood Community Project (click here to view) is made up of community leaders from throughout Stark Country. The goal of this board has been to establish a community center that is uniquely situated to meet the needs of the families it will serve.
The new Edgewood Community Center is a private non-profit organization which opened to the public March 12th 2007. Edgewood Community Center is a membership based organization open to everyone and will be supported by membership & program fees, and donations. No public or church funds are being used to operate the facility. Financial assistance will ultimately be available for individuals and families who cannot afford our membership dues or program fees. Our hope is that anyone who will benefit from being a member can be a member if they desire.
This will be a place where healthy family values will be modeled and taught. It will be a place built to give kids and seniors alike a place to grow, get healthy and feel appreciated. It will be a place for the community to come together to engage in sports, fitness, arts, wellness and recreation led by Denise Allen our Associate Director.
Our hope at the Edgewood Community Center is to provide opportunities to transfer healthy family values to the next generation and create practical and tangible ways to love our neighbors … This place will also serve as a constant reminder we are all part of something bigger than ourselves.
Thank you for caring…and for sharing...in an all out effort to enrich our community.
The acquisition of the Edgewood Golf Course property began a journey that has inspired an exciting vision for enriching the spiritual, emotional and physical health of the local community in innovative and relevant ways. We didn’t want to be just an inward focused church. We wanted to create a campus that would serve everyone in the community from all walks of life.
Part of the original vision was maintaining a nine whole golf course and practice facility that would continue to serve the community. We upgraded the driving range and redesigned the golf course making it family friendly for people of all ages and still challenging for the avid golfer.
Other discussions by the church ranged from a sports & recreation facility, an arts venue, a café, and a bookstore…and the list continues to grow to this day. Today we are seeing many of these exciting dreams to serve our community come true as part of the Edgewood Campus. You can go to www.EdgewoodCampus.com for more information.
In late 2003 the Jefferies Co. made First Christian Church an offer to receive, free of charge, enough steel to build an 80,000 square foot community building. The steel was originally slated for the Massillon Hockey Rink that fell through.
Being excited about fulfilling our community vision we proceeded to have discussions with leaders from numerous local nonprofits, schools, colleges, universities, and hospitals about partnering to serve the community. The discussions centered on development of a modern community wellness, meeting, and recreational facility designed to meet the needs of today’s active families as well as those of the church. The response was overwhelmingly positive but unfortunately the construction and operational costs for the venture were not feasible. In early 2004 we declined the offer for the steel.
In late 2004 FCC was blessed with a $1 million donation from a church member that was designated to build a youth building. Although this was an extremely generous gift that insured the church youth would have the space they needed, everyone agreed it would not build a very big facility at today’s construction costs.
During this entire process First Christian Church created the necessary separate legal entities for developing the Edgewood property. We needed to decide who would own and operate the golf course as well as other future developments such as a possible community center one day. It was at this point Thousand Hills Enterprises, one of those entities, decided to apply for available federal funds to help build a larger more effective community center that would meet the needs of our local community. Approximately 9 months later in late 2005 Thousand Hills received approval for a construction grant from HUD in the amount of $750,000.00. With this grant, the million dollar donation, and the generosity of First Christian Church who supplied the land, Thousand Hills Enterprises built the new Edgewood Community Center.
The project has since been turned over to a new non-profit corporation called “The Edgewood Community Project” which is completely independent from the church, with its own board of directors from the community. The Edgewood Community Project will administer day to day operation of the community center.
The Board of Directors of the Edgewood Community Project (click here to view) is made up of community leaders from throughout Stark Country. The goal of this board has been to establish a community center that is uniquely situated to meet the needs of the families it will serve.
The new Edgewood Community Center is a private non-profit organization which opened to the public March 12th 2007. Edgewood Community Center is a membership based organization open to everyone and will be supported by membership & program fees, and donations. No public or church funds are being used to operate the facility. Financial assistance will ultimately be available for individuals and families who cannot afford our membership dues or program fees. Our hope is that anyone who will benefit from being a member can be a member if they desire.
This will be a place where healthy family values will be modeled and taught. It will be a place built to give kids and seniors alike a place to grow, get healthy and feel appreciated. It will be a place for the community to come together to engage in sports, fitness, arts, wellness and recreation led by Denise Allen our Associate Director.
Our hope at the Edgewood Community Center is to provide opportunities to transfer healthy family values to the next generation and create practical and tangible ways to love our neighbors … This place will also serve as a constant reminder we are all part of something bigger than ourselves.
Thank you for caring…and for sharing...in an all out effort to enrich our community.
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