North Carolina community progress, October 15, 1920

              NORTH    CAROLINA
Community Progress
VOLUME  2
OCTOBER  15,  1920
NUMBER  2
Published Twice a Month By the North Carolina College For Women, Greensboro, N. C.
THE COMMUNITY CENTER
BY WALTON S. BITTNER
Associate Director in Charge of Public Welfare Service, Extension Division
Indiana University
The Ideals for which America Fought. America
fought for an actual thing, a reality, not for a mere
theory of democracy. The free nations are demo
cratic organizations and their local groups of citizens are members of self-governing communities
which literally were saved by the victory of the
Great War. A community center is a place
of democratic organization so designed that
the existing freedom
and self-government of
the citizens will be pre-
served, strengthened,
and enlarged.
The people of every
locality of the United
States aiiould develop
for themselves a community center which
will be their memorial
to victory and their
pledge of devotion to
the practical task of
Perfecting freedom and
"We cannot get greater
enjoyment out of life by
simply increasing our
possessions, but only by
increasing our capacity
for self expression."
Robert B. Wolfe
opportunity   for   themselves and their neighbors.
A Simple Idea and a Practical Instrument. Citizens of the United States must live democracy as
well as talk it. To live democracy every person in a
ueighborhood must learn about common problems,
must discuss them with his neighbors, and must co-
°perate in solving them. That is the simple idea of
the community center, an idea which may be summed up in the phrase, more co-operation between all
neighbors in the community. Of course we have
^operation where there are no formal community
centers; the point is, that we want more co-opera
tion through an organization consciously devised for
its promotion.
The community center is a place and a form of
organization chosen by the citizens of the neighborhood for the very definite purpose of increasing the
number and effectiveness of activities which bring
the people of the district together.
Definition of Community Center. A community center is a place
of organization for the
promotion of unity in
the neighborhood and
efficiency in the widest
field of citizenship.
"A community center is both an idea and
a device. As an idea
it means community
fraternallsm. As a device it may enable a
community to know itself, its problems, and
something about their
solution."—B, V. Phelan, University of Minnesota.
"A social center is a place where people can come
together on a basis of absolute equality for the promotion of those things in which all have a common
interest; a place where the people of a neighborhood or community can meet for recreation, entertainment, or instruction, and for the discussion of
the problems of individual, municipal, and national
life."—Prom pamphlet issued by the South Bend
Chamber of Commerce.
"The social center has come, making the school-
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