ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS (February 23, 2023) — Where the Watch Tower Plaza once stood in southwest Rock Island now stretches a 23-acre vacant lot. Just across the street from the lot — which was cleared in 2015 to make way for a Walmart Supercenter that never came, displacing a supermarket, a drug store, a salon, and other local retailers — a non-profit called Positive Brothers United (PBU) is bringing new resources to community members in the area.
The organization celebrated the grand opening of its PBU Outreach Center this Black History Month on February 3, the anniversary of the ratification of the 15th Amendment, which guaranteed African-American men the right to vote in 1870.
“People are going to have help right down the street, without having catch the bus or get a ride way out to the library or somewhere else,” said Thomas White Sr, PBU’s secretary, explaining that the Outreach Center lies within walking distance of multiple schools and low-income apartment complexes. “Having this center close to where they live will help give them the motivation to come down and take advantage of the opportunities we have to offer.”
While it was originally founded in 1998 in response to growing violence in Rock Island, PBU only gained official non-profit status in 2021. Incorporation as a 501(c)(3) allows an organization to apply for grants from funders like the Quad Cities Community Foundation, and, last fall, PBU was one of eight non-profits to receive its first Community Foundation grant, $20,000 for general operations and programming.
“It’s exciting to see an organization like Positive Brothers United continue evolving to better serve its community, and we were pleased to be able to support that growth with a grant from the Quad Cities Community Impact Fund,” said Kelly Thompson, vice president of grantmaking and community initiatives. “It was so fun to attend the center’s grand opening and celebrate all the positive things that will happen there.”
“We really appreciated the grant — and we definitely needed it,” said Mike Collier, one of PBU’s founders. “We’ve been raising funds on our own and using a lot of our own money to do this, so the support of the Community Foundation was a blessing.”
“Without this grant, it would have taken us a lot longer to open the Outreach Center,” added White. “It took a lot of stress off us and allowed us to get back to what we’re out here to do.”
At the new Outreach Center, young people and adults can participate in programming to build life skills and engage with others in the community, as well as access resources like a computer lab, food assistance, and transportation services. The goal is to help them turn their lives around and contribute to the future well-being of themselves, their families, and their communities.
“We work with at-risk youth who have limited opportunities or don’t know about the opportunities available to them,” said White. “They might grow up doing wrong things that they believe are right because it puts food in their stomach or makes them feel like a human being. But they find out that life doesn’t reward what they’re putting into their character. We’re to help rearrange the situation — plant those seeds of a better way and reward them for trying to take these positive opportunities.”
“The Outreach Center will be a nucleus of change,” added Collier.
With the center now open, PBU is focused on surveying the community’s needs and spreading the word about all the resources available. Future fundraising efforts will lead to hiring full-time staff members to help deliver the organization’s programs and set the stage for continued stability and growth.
At the grand opening, White was excited to see over fifty people come together for a common goal, including supportive community members, nonprofit leaders like Thompson and Reverend Dwight Ford of Project NOW, and politicians from both sides of the aisle. “This is a rebirth, a new beginning, a new chapter,” he said. “We’re able to move forward with the support that we have backing us.”
Anyone interested in volunteering with PBU, making a donation, or participating in a program is invited to reach out at (309) 631-3424, PBURockIsland@gmail.com, or PBU’s Facebook page — or to stop by the Outreach Center at 3704 Martin Luther King Drive in Rock Island.
