Renaissance on 9th to lease ‘majority’ of building for free after-school program

Bayside Community Church is expanding its operations to develop a free after-school program for elementary-aged children next year.

The Bradenton Dream Center is set to open in spring 2018 at Renaissance on 9th, 1816 Ninth St. W., which is owned by Meals on Wheels PLUS of Manatee. The church is leasing a “majority of the building,” said Stephanie Grepling, the nonprofit’s marketing director.

Bayside has six campuses in Manatee, Sarasota and Hardee counties, and on the weekends the Renaissance on 9th location will be its seventh. On afternoons from Monday to Friday, kids from kindergarten through fifth grade will have a space to do homework, be mentored, play sports or be involved in special interest groups.

While the programs won’t necessarily be strictly faith-based, Bayside’s creative executive director Kristin Becnel said they “will encourage character development and all that sort of stuff.”

Becnel said the church has always been looking for ways to be more involved in the community.

“That’s what we’ve really been doing since day one,” she said.

Organizers are speaking with various schools to introduce the program, opening it up to 150 students to start, and are still working on developing how the program will run, but the location was a first step.

“We wanted to make it be easily accessible to families,” Becnel said. “We just really felt like that was a great location so we could meet as many needs as possible.”

Because of the large lease, time- and space-wise, the only other program Meals on Wheels will be holding at the location is the Enrichment Center, which is a recreational and educational program for adults over 50.

“We are so excited to share our space at Renaissance on 9th with the Bradenton Dream Center, which will bring a safe, fun, atmosphere for children in Bradenton,” said Meals on Wheels’ CEO Maribeth Phillips in a press release.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Renaissance on 9th to lease ‘majority’ of building for free after-school program."