Lincoln's Center for People celebrates 20 years of community service

Lincoln's Center for People hosted a celebration Saturday of 20 years of community service with its first-ever People's Parking Lot Party, a music festival and fundraiser.

Started out of a house on Holdrege Street in 2003, the center's founder Beatty Brasch named it the Center for People in Need. The goal was to meet the needs of people in Lincoln who struggled with food insecurity.

On Saturday, the center has transformed to its current state: a massive building located at 3901 N. 27th St., expanding upon Brasch's sole goal of feeding families in Lincoln and adding in diaper distribution and educational programs such as English Language Learning for new Americans and job training and development opportunities. The center is also looking to expand to food education as well, with information about nutrition and meal planning for those who come to the center.

"The Center for People has not only changed its name to embrace the entirety of what it offers, but it has also freshened its brand," said Center for People Director of Fund Development Belinda Acosta in an email.

To celebrate the center's growth over the past two decades, staff and volunteers turned the building's parking lot into a food-truck-lined mini music festival with local artists Jurana, Jack Hotel, 23rd Vibration and A Ferocious Jungle Cat taking to the stage.

Between sets, board and staff members sang their praises of volunteers and other members of the team that had taken part in organizing not only Saturday's event, but past distribution events and day-to-day activities. 

"I think most milestone events are cause for reflection," said Acosta in an email. "For someone like me, who's been at the Center for People for a little over a year, it's a time to reflect and appreciate what has been accomplished and what's possible."

Opposite the stage, acclaimed muralist David Manzanares led a community mural activity. Attendees painted their part of Manzanares' mural that will be hung in the Center for People once finished.

"It's always beautiful to work with community because you can always connect with somebody," said Manzanares, who began painting murals in Mexico before moving to Nebraska.

Manzanares has experience working with groups of people adding color to the murals he's outlined and said he hasn't worked with the center before but volunteered because he knows the people. This, Acosta said, was the goal of the party.

"We're in a stage where either you know or you don't know the center," Acosta said. "So we really want to build that recognition, and obviously people that do know who we are just remind them that we are still here doing good work."

Funds raised throughout the night are set to be used to support the general operating costs and food distribution program. With help from the food bank, the center has been able to distribute over 200,000 pounds of food per month.