Active community group RDEDC seeks means to grow

PAWTUCKET - Just three years after it was founded as a small-scale community outreach center, leaders of the faith-based Revival Deliverance Edification Development Corp. are hoping to expand soon at the organization's Benefit Street location.

Representatives from the center, at 122 Benefit St., told The Breeze during a "Raise the Roof" fund-raiser kickoff last week that they hope to make improvements there in order to better meet the growing needs of their Pawtucket neighborhood.

Leaders of the Revival Deliverance Edification Center, RDEC, a Boston-based church, established a new Pawtucket location for the church in 2006.

Representatives from the non-profit RDEDC and the church have worked in concert to establish several programs serving the Benefit Street neighborhood, including the outdoor Pawtucket HYPE Basketball League, one that is now attracting more than 70 young people during the summer months.

"I think our ultimate goal is to really, really support our community," said Kim Stubbs, vice-president of RDEC, who runs the Pawtucket facility with its president, the Rev. Jenniefer Hightower, bishop of the non-denominational RDEC church. "People know that there is something right here to help them in their own back yard."

Of the $10,000 sought as part of the organization's current fund-raiser, only about $1,500 has been received so far, according to Stubbs. The RDEC is also seeking donations of used school books, among other items, for a variety of programs.

Stubbs spoke last week as she gave a tour of the Benefit Street facility, one she and others with the RDEC hope to expand through generous donations.

Plans are still fluid at the RDEC, but the hope is that one day the non-profit organization will offer Pawtucket residents:

* A full-fledged computer training center - leaders there hope to use some of the money raised to buy new computers and to renovate an upstairs room to accommodate them;

* A job readiness program;

* A continuing adult education and GED program;

* A teen recreation center;

* And an elder activity center offering classes to seniors.

Stubbs said she and volunteers at the RDEC will soon meet with city officials about possibly expanding upward or on the rear of their property.

"We know we're allowed to go up," she said.

Already, leaders of the RDEC are offering computer training classes on a small scale, an after-school tutoring program for students, and CPR and first aid training, among others.

Stubbs, a former Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston employee and a one-time standout All-American basketball player, said that for many families in the Benefit Street neighborhood, the trip to the Pawtucket Boys & Girls Club is a difficult one to manage on a regular basis.

"They can afford the membership fee but there is a transportation issue for many," she said.

Programs offered at the former Drolet Kitchen Center have been well received, said Stubbs, but have been difficult to expand on due to limited funds. Leaders there charge little to nothing for programs.

The RDEC "serves the needs of disadvantaged individuals and families of the urban communities (within Boston and Pawtucket) by providing training, resources and services to empower individuals through educational, cultural and recreational opportunities, while providing, hope and outreach to the community-at-large," according to the organization's Web site, www.rdedc.org.

To make a donation to the expansion efforts at the RDEDC, send a check payable to the "RDEC Corp." to 122 Benefit St. in Pawtucket, RI 02861. Other items can be dropped off on location.