Correspondent photo / Sean Barron David Hight, the McGuffey Centre’s executive director, stands next to workout equipment in a small gym recently installed in the Youngstown recreation and community facility’s basement. The center recently passed an intense Internal Revenue Service audit and had its nonprofit status restored.

YOUNGSTOWN — A longtime fixture on the East Side has jumped over several tall hurdles and, in all likelihood, is looking at a clear path on which to move forward.

“We closed in 2020 during COVID and opened in late 2022,” David Hight, the McGuffey Centre’s executive director, said. “The taxes were not paid and we lost our 501(c)(3) status.”

Compounding the difficulties for the center, 1649 Jacobs Road, was the June 13, 2020, death of Brian D. Phillips, 57, who was the 23-year executive director of Associated Neighborhood Ministry and served in the same capacity for the center.

Funding decreases also exacerbated the facility’s challenges. Specifically, the center had received annual $100,000 installments from the Arrel trust fund that eventually stopped, Hight recalled.

Nevertheless, a few years ago, the tide began to turn dramatically and favorably. The McGuffey Centre passed an intense Internal Revenue Service audit and had its nonprofit status restored in May 2023 — paving the way for a far brighter future — Hight noted.

“Two men (from the IRS) were here for three days. They went through everything and we passed with flying colors,” Cheryl McRae, board treasurer, said, adding, “No modifications, no amendments, no changes and no tax due; just a good 100% clean audit.”

In 2022, ongoing efforts saw hundreds of volunteers working together to save the McGuffey Centre from permanent closure, along with a new board of directors being formed and, with city council’s assistance, some funding was restored, she noted.

“The new board had to generate some revenue to keep the doors open, so it decided to rent some vacant rooms out to other government tenants, including Mercy Health, Help Me Rise, Youngstown City Health Department and others,” McRae said in an email. “That was enough to pay the monthly bills and keep the doors open.”

Late last week, Hight ticked off a variety of programs and services the center offers that include Monday-through-Friday boxing and karate classes for young people, weekly line and hip-hop dancing, chair aerobics, a new game and arcade room for youth, a remedial course to help people get their driver’s licenses reinstated and a 13-day State Tested Nurse Aide program through Help Me Rise. Also, Zumba classes are set to resume next month, he said.

Much of the basement that was used as storage space has been transformed into a small gym with barbells and other pieces of workout equipment, something that resembles “a mini Planet Fitness,” Hight added.

In addition, the McGuffey Centre is home to Ms. B’s Cafe, open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and it provides a space for the Northeast Homeowners and Concerned Citizens organization to conduct monthly meetings, he continued. A daycare room for children ages 3-6 is slated to open this spring. Plans also are to restart the center’s summer day camps.

Other offerings include the health department office, from which young mothers can receive diapers and other baby supplies, along with providing a place for funeral repasses, graduation parties and other special events, he said. Hight added that the center offered free Thanksgiving meals in November to more than 400 people.

Annual membership rates are $35 for those 20 and under, $75 for people ages 21-54 and $55 for seniors 55 and older.

Also, a project to install a new heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system, estimated at $70,000, should wrap up at the end of this month, Hight noted.

Another key project for which monetary donations are being sought is new flooring in the large gym. The work, estimated at $120,000, will entail replacing the original floor that was installed in 1975, he said. Hight added that the center is working with the United Way of Youngstown and Mahoning County, the Youngstown Foundation and state Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, to secure funding.

To donate, visit the center directly or go to mcguffey1649@gmail.com. Make checks or money orders payable to “ANC / McGuffey Centre.”

Hight, McRae and Herb Williams, a McGuffey Centre board member, said they also want to see the facility’s outreach grow. To that end, it is hoped that people in all parts of the city, not just the East Side, will know the programs and offerings are available to them — something made easier with a Western Reserve Transit Authority bus stop outside the building, they said.

The McGuffey Centre opened its doors in 1926 in a three-story home before moving next door to its current location in 1961.