Franklin Community Center Marks 40 Years of Community Impact with Celebration Event

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Franklin Community Center will celebrate its 40 years of service with an anniversary celebration Sept. 28 at 550 Waterfront by Druthers. The anniversary celebration - “Cheers To 40 Years” will take place 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $75 and available at franklincommunitycenter.org. 

Franklin Community Center has served as a social service hub for the less fortunate in and around Saratoga since 1983. The Center’s programs include a food pantry, a free after-school prevention program for local students and affordable housing for low-income individuals, as well as assisting with furniture and clothing and household needs, among others.

The initial plan in the 1980’s was to develop a west side community center that would offer a hub of services to meet the needs of local residents. Housed at 10 Franklin St., the central location would prove ideal for programming, outreach and counseling services.

The organization soon would expand services to meet its core mission of making a positive difference in the lives of others.

“Our campus today encompasses four buildings, each housing a different aspect of what we do,” says Mary Beth McGarrahan, development director at Franklin Community Center.   

Project Lift was launched as a prevention-based after-school program in Greenfield and Division Street Elementary Schools. By 2017, all six of the elementary schools in the district were added to the Project Lift program, supporting over 100 students and their families in Saratoga. 

Franklin Community Manor was built in the late 1980s as a low-income housing alternative for homeless. Additional programs included the Toy Library, Head Start Pre-School Program and a Dispute Mediation Program.

The decades that followed saw the establishment of a distribution center offering household items and clothing, and the offering of additional housing in a building purchased by FCC at 101 Washington St. Other services included case management, crisis intervention and an ever-expanding food pantry. 

In late 2021, FCC opened the doors of its newest facility, located at the intersection of Franklin and Washington streets. FCC raised about $1 million toward the building acquisition and the Arpey Family, local philanthropic supporters, stepped forward to donate an additional $1 million to complete the purchase. Formerly the MASIE center, the new FCC location is named the Michael and Stacie Arpey Family Community Center. 

The organization’s new building provides more than 10,000 square feet of expanded space, features individual offices, common areas, large meeting rooms, and stands a few yards from its 10 Franklin St. building, which remains active as an enlarged and often-used food pantry. 

“Since last year we’ve seen about a 30% increase in those being served solely by the food pantry,” said McGarrahan, explaining that during this past August the food pantry served about 360 families and over 1,000 individuals, compared to August 2022 when it had served approximately 250 families and 800 individuals.    

For more information about Franklin Community Center and/or  the organization’s 40th anniversary celebration, go to:  franklincommunitycenter.org.