Open Gym Initiative
Background
The Gym at Sherrill Hall has its beginnings in 1935, when at Mr. Andrew M. Sherrill's death (member of Roseville Presbyterian Church), he bequeathed funds to be used to serve the youth of Roseville Church and the surrounding neighborhood.
After years of planning, construction and design, in 1954 Sherrill Hall was completed and dedicated for use of the community children. The original building featured a Basketball court, a stage, locker rooms, a bowling alley & meeting space. In the 1960s, Sherrill Hall became an integral part of the neighborhood, hosting Basketball games, dodgeball tournaments, wrestling practices, pool Tournaments, stage plays, fashion shows, daycamp and notably, recreational space for The crusaders, a boys group, and the Crown Jewels, a girls group.
Throughout the 70s, 80s, 90s and 2000s, the gym continued to serve as a reliable recreational space for the church & community children of many generations. Its latest use having been host to "Open Gym", a Saturday program that gave neighborhood boys a place to play basketball and have the opportunity to be mentored by Men in the community.
Open Gym Initiative
The Roseville Outreach Community Corporation a 501 C3 non-profit is looking forward to reopening the Open Gym program which has given city youth a safe place to play since its inception four years ago. Prior to the pandemic, on Saturday mornings, fifty (50) youth in the Fairmount section of Newark gathered in our church gym to play basketball, table games, share a healthy meal, and be mentored by male role models. Now that the COVID vaccine is available, our plan is to reopen. However, we face the impact of a particularly brutal winter which has caused leaks to the roof of the gym building and consequently, the leaking has damaged the tiled floor. Without these repairs, we are unable to resume the Open Gym program this September. We believe the Open Gym has been a positive influence on the lives of the youth who participate. Our plans for enhancing the Open Gym Program depend on our ability to raise funds to make the critical repairs as soon as possible. This program helps build positive citizens equipped to change the world.
You can help in this exciting project with your tax-deductible donation between $100 to $5000 by visiting the donate tab on our website or clicking the button below to help us achieve our goal. Please feel free to contact us at 973-483-3663 so we can discuss particulars of your contribution and you can learn more about our mission. We believe our youth could be the next generation of bright shining lights to change the world. We invite you to imagine this possibility with us. We ask you to dream with us to imagine the world changing results of duplicating this ambitious project in cities all over the world. Thank you.