East Columbia 50+ Center

Pearl Atkinson Stewart (left)

For 10 years, Pearl Atkinson Stewart, a member of First Baptist Church of Guilford, had been pursuing the construction of a 50+ Center in East Columbia. She successfully advocated for the County Council to fund a plan for a new center, but they later declined to budget construction funds.  Seniors were upset and formed a steering committee to work with Pearl to pursue the completion of the Center.

Pearl shared, "PATH offered to assist us in this endeavor by using their community advocacy led by Olivia Buckley and the Rev. Tyrone P. Jones, pastor of First Baptist Church of Guilford. Our steering committee and PATH worked together to obtain Howard County funding. I believe that without PATH advocating on our behalf, the East Columbia 50+ Center never would have been built."

Former PATH organizer Olivia Buckley remembered, “The East Columbia 50+ Center was my first campaign as a brand-new organizer, and it was the pandemic, so our meetings were on Zoom. Ms. Pearl had already formed a team and worked on this for years, but they needed wider support to get it passed. The role of PATH was to bring in the clergy and the wider community to support.”

Many members of PATH congregations used the center, and Olivia engaged them in the campaign.

PATH leaders wrote dozens of emails, made calls, and testified at public hearings asking the Council to fund a new building for the center. 

Chuck Koplik, PATH leader from the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) reflected, "This campaign enabled us to really organize the Jewish community and get the JCRC engaged in PATH. There’s a lot of Jewish values in supporting a senior center, and it was an issue of equity for people in East Columbia.”

When some Councilmembers still held out from funding the center, PATH’s team knew we had to put the pressure on.

In April, PATH organized a large action with press and County Councilmembers, turning out over 250 people in the parking lot of the 50+ center to demand funding for a new building. Read a Baltimore Sun article about the action here.

Olivia Buckley recalled, “We had to get really creative with the action because it was the pandemic and we had to be socially distanced. We held it outside with people spaced out in the parking lot. There was line dancing and tai chi, to show off how important the center’s activities were. Other people lined up in their cars in the parking lot, and we broadcast the action on the radio, and they honked along with the program.”

She added, “I remember finishing the action and turning to Cynthia and she asked me, ‘How do you feel?’ And I said, ‘It was just so fun,’ and it was the first time I realized that fighting can be fun. It was a really beautiful experience.”

Through the action, PATH finally secured enough Council votes to fund the new 50+ center, and the project broke ground on December 15th of 2021. PATH then worked with the Council to ensure the last $5.5 Million that had been holding up the new building was included in the budget for 2021-2022.

Pearl Atkinson Stewart shared, “It was wonderful to see such an outpouring of people and all the ministers showing they were in support of it. I'm forever grateful for PATH because if not for them, it wouldn't have been done.”

The new building includes over 29,000 square feet and provides ample space for senior activities, as well as gathering space for the whole community.

Rev. Tyrone Jones speaking at the ribbon cutting ceremony

On March 7, 2024, PATH celebrated our victory at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the center. Read more here, and check out press coverage from the Daily Record and the Baltimore Sun.

During the ribbon cutting ceremony, Rev. Tyrone P. Jones, IV, PATH Co-Chair, was invited to speak.

He shared, “Before, the cramped East Columbia senior center had remained in limbo, a reminder of inequity in our community… Today is a day that rights a few wrongs that have gone on for too long in our county. Today is a day when our seniors in Howard County win.”

Regina Lee, a differently-abled advocate with PATH from St John Baptist Church, was active in the campaign for the Center. She shared about the new center: “I think it's such a blessing for the community and Howard County!  Because the space is so convenient and accessible, I have not only attended numerous sponsored events held at the Center, but have even promoted several events."  

Pearl Atkinson Stewart shared, “Now, I go to the center at least 3 to 5 days a week and for all the special events. They have so many amazing games and programs. I play cards, I do line dancing, exercise classes, massage, movie nights. I love the interaction with people and I don't know what I'd do without it.”

She added, “I'm so proud of that place, it's beautiful. And it’s beautiful to see all the people who come there and how much they enjoy it and how they walk up to me and say, "Thank you for getting this place built, and I don't know what I'd do without it."