827 Linden Ave.
East Pittsburgh, PA 15112
412-349-8325
www.thisgenerationconnect.com
This Generation Connect was established to build community relationships. While it does offer faith resources, it is designed to welcome and be a support to anyone who seeks it.
“The inspiration actually was the connector of community and church. I believe, and I say this often is that there’s a disconnect between our church and community,” said founder Nathaniel Carter. “Many people really need community support…a lot of people disassociate getting support from churches because of their perception of church, and so oftentimes it’s important how the community views us. That’s why a lot of the work and initiatives that we do, we wanted it to be outside of the context of a church space.”
The space created is known as The Connect Center, a previous bar that has been renovated for community use. Anyone from entrepreneurs to activists to families can rent out the venue space for gatherings. It is equipped with Wi-Fi, ample seating, and audio/visual resources upon request. The Connect Center has hosted events like birthday parties, bridal showers, and concerts.
“We wanted to create a community space that is accessible to the community, very high end; There’s a full commercial kitchen in this space. There’s a cafe eating area and connect hub…the entire building is a flex space. We just wanted to make it creative enough for the community to have access,” said Carter.
In addition to venue rental, The Connect Center is also routinely used for free food distribution, exercise classes, and financial literacy courses.
Carter said This Generation Connect not only serves the community but is driven by it.
“We are community-led. The organization itself is community-led, and our desire and our aim is to provide resources. The same resources that’s found in the city of Pittsburgh, we want those resources to be navigated here in the Mon-Valley…we want our youth, our families, our communities to have the same access to resources, and so we’re doing our due diligence to make that possible.”
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