Ford Philanthropy holds groundbreaking ceremony for new Ford Community Center

STANTON, Tenn. — The town of Stanton along with residents and leaders of the community had something big to celebrate.

Ford Philanthropy hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ford Community Center at the Historic Stanton School. The center’s mobile units are scheduled to arrive soon while the center itself is scheduled to open in the year 2025.

“So there was 2,500 hours of listening sessions, working sessions, talking with partners, talking with residents, talking with local leaders to really understand what is your vision for this community and what are the obstacles stopping you from getting there,” said Hassan Hannound, senior manager with Ford Philanthropy.

Through several partnerships such as United Way, who will help operate the center, theCO, Phoenix Mobility and more. Ford plans to continue to focus on improving lives of west Tennesseans.

One major partnership the center will have is with Tennessee College of Applied Technology to provide workforce development programs.

“The next couple of weeks, the mobile unit which is right next to the school on site will be open for services. Some people will come here in the next couple of weeks and get connected to those opportunities,” said Mary Culler, president of Ford Philanthropy.

Representatives of Ford told us that there’s one thing specifically that they work to build on with residents in the community.

“We have to build trust and we build trust through listening and learning. We also always know that the community is everyone’s community, not ours,” said Culler.

Lunch was served on the lot after the groundbreaking ceremony.

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