A Legacy of Community Service

Upper Valley Medical Center (UVMC) and the Lincoln Community Center in Troy have collaborated on many projects over the years, but none have exceeded the center’s long-needed expansion project.

The Lincoln Community Center (LCC), tucked into a Troy neighborhood between West Main Street and McKaig Avenue, has a long history. The 1939 center building, expanded by more than 21,000 square feet in this project, shares the foundation and footprint of a one-room school built in the late 1800s for the African American children in Troy. Today, the center serves a diverse community of all ages, from preschoolers to senior citizens, with activities such as basketball, pickleball, swimming, art classes, yoga, an after-school program, volleyball, a lunch program, and many more.

The completion of the nearly $4 million expansion was unveiled in August, resulting from the center’s highly successful Legacy fundraising campaign. The campaign ran for nearly two years, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, and received close to 500 donations and gifts.

To help provide space for the center to continue its legacy and services, the UVMC Board of Directors committed $1 million from its Community Benefit Fund.

“The new expansion at Lincoln Community Center is an example of what we can accomplish when the community comes together to rally around educating, informing, and uplifting the community of Troy,” said Shane Carter, center executive director. “Lincoln Community Center had a meeting with UVMC’s leadership team and discussed the long relationship between the two. Both LCC and UVMC’s core values align, as we both find diversity and inclusion essential in our community. UVMC and LCC partner together to promote a strong, healthy community, and partner on community outreach programs throughout the year,” Carter said.

“UVMC has been a partner with Lincoln Community Center for many years. Both organizations can trace our mission-driven service to the community back more than a century,” said Kevin Harlan, UVMC president. “We commend Shane Carter and his team for their extraordinary work in bringing this dream to reality. It is truly transformative and positions the center for much more good work in the decades to come.”

The UVMC Board of Directors’ commitment was invaluable to the project, Carter said. “UVMC was a lead donor in giving, and their contribution to the campaign and to the overall project was vitally important. It was a critical piece to get this project done, as well as to attract a broad group of donors,” he said.

“Our board is committed to supporting like-minded organizations that share the UVMC/Premier Health mission of building strong, healthy communities,” said Steve Staley, chair of the UVMC Board of Directors. “We’re pleased to have had a part in helping to make this beautiful expansion a reality.”