A capital campaign seeks to raise $3 million that would enable the Five Points Washington community center to bolster its aquatics, performing arts and gathering spaces.
Five Points management on Monday announced the public launch of the fundraising initiative called, “Reimagining the Future of Our Community.”
Executive Director Vikki Poorman said the effort is about “investing in people” as well as the facility.
“It’s a capital campaign to make improvements to the building, but it’s not about the building. It’s about the people that we serve, and who we can serve better with these upgrades,” said Poorman.
Poorman said the bulk of the funding would cover improvements to the heating and cooling equipment for the pool area and upgraded audio-visual systems at the performing arts center, with a goal of improving accessibility, safety and functionality.
“The aquatics department is very important. We partner with the high school and we have several swim teams here,” she said. “We have lots of people who learn how to swim here, kids who learn how to swim here. We have therapy, and as we age, a lot of us need that warm water therapy just so we can function.”
Along with the sound system, planned work for the performing arts center includes upgraded lighting, flooring and other essential systems.
“That will allow us to have better artists and performers here to be more of a regional draw,” said Poorman.
Five Points has already raised more than $1.8 million during the campaign’s “leadership phase” ahead of the public portion of the effort.
“We’re at 60% of the goal, there,” said Poorman, adding there’s no set timeline for when the improvements would be made. “We’re just hoping to continue to move forward and build on what we’ve already done, so that we can make the improvements and we can serve the community better.”
In early 2024, the City of Washington approved a plan to forgive $600,000 that Five Points owed the city. Around that time, anticipated necessary improvements in the years ahead were estimated at more than $1 million.
Opened in 2007, the 136,000 community center attracts approximately 600,000 visitors annually.
“Five Points was a dream over 20 years ago, and the community came together. It was a $21 million project; approximately $10 million of that came from donors,” said Poorman. “Now this is just part of how the community has come together.
“It’s really built by the community, and that’s just the way we’re just carrying on that legacy and trying to make sure that we can remain financially viable for the next 20 years.”
