Celebration for Grace Community Center held in Sikeston

SIKESTON Mo. (KBSI) – People in Sikeston gathered at Lincoln Park to celebrate the ground breaking of Grace Community Center on Sunday afternoon.

William Marshall is one of the board members of Grace Community Center, and he says the center will ensure that the people who live in Sikeston will have a multipurpose building that supports them.

“Our hope is that we’re going to have things like youth sports. We want to have things like a food program. Obviously, we’re going to have a little laundry mat in there for people who can’t afford that or need that.” Said Marshall.

Other anticipated features will be a specific location for local disaster relief efforts, and a daycare facility. Which board member Kenny King says is much needed in the community. King says, “We know one of the big struggles that families have is finding an affordable daycare. SO, we wanted to be able to provide that to families at a lower rate to make sure parents can go to work and not have to worry about their kids having a safe place to be.”

The groundbreaking was made possible due to the center receiving an ARPA grant in 2023 to fund the community project, as well as the immense support from people in Sikeston. Members say the power of unity and faith brought this dream to reality, with 2 pastors feeling the need to help the west end of Sikeston by joining together to form this new congregation.