Dysart Community Center is a nonprofit organization doing business in El Mirage, in the northwest part of the Greater Phoenix area. I posed ten questions to a representative of Dysart Community Center in an effort to familiarize Phoenix area residents with the organization. Here are the responses I received.

What is the name of the organization?

Dysart Community Center

How long has the organization been operating in the Phoenix area?

Since 1962

Does the organization serve a particular geographic area?

The Dysart Community Center is located in El Mirage and serves low-income families in the West Valley communities of Avondale, Buckeye, El Mirage, Glendale, Goodyear, Phoenix, Peoria, Surprise, Waddell, Wickenburg and Youngtown.

Who is most likely to benefit from services provided by the organization?

Low-income children and adults in our local communities.

Are there requirements or prerequisites for people to access your services?

No.

Three things about Dysart Community Center that people might not know.

1. We are funded by individual contributions and the Valley of the Sun United Way and are always looking for more contributors.

1. We will allow individual volunteers to help tutor English, teach GED, or work with our youth. We accept larger groups looking for structural renovations, group projects, or those that may even want to help us start a Community Garden.
2. Our Center participants ranges from youth of 5 years old all the way to adults in their 80's!

What is the local address?

14414 N. El Mirage Rd.
El Mirage, AZ 85335

What is the local phone number?

623-583-0016

What is the URL of the local web site?

www.dysartcommunitycenter.org

Any other comments?

Dysart Community Center is a non-profit organization, separate from the Dysart School District that was established in the early 1960’s by a group of twelve determined volunteers to provide primary health and educational resources for local families struggling on the verge of poverty. Education was the first priority for these volunteers, with the introduction of literacy training for adult learners eager to improve their lives and build self-sufficiency through English language instruction.

From its founding, Dysart Community Center has expanded its services to provide a variety of educational programs for thousands of West Valley residents.

The mission of this non-profit organization is to provide educational and developmental opportunities for low-income children and adults in our local communities. The Center is one of, if not the only place in the West Valley for 1-on-1 ESL and GED programming at a very low cost. The Center also offers after school and summer programs for youths ages 5-14. The Center caters to low-income families and is either free or has minimal cost to the participants.

The goals of the Adult Education program are to help adults learn the English language, assist students of all ages to acquire GEDs, and enable participants to obtain employment. In the City of El Mirage the literacy and English language proficiency rates are very low. In the Youth Development program the goals are to encourage students to remain in school and continue to higher education, learn the importance of being a good citizen, and understand what it means to role model positive behavior. With these goals in mind, the 4-person staff works hard to recruit volunteers to keep our costs low and maintain our much-needed presence in the community.
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