KCHA and its Building Better Futures partners marked the successful completion of the Kent Family Center capital campaign and the start of construction of the Springwood Youth Center under sunny skies on May 26.

Students in Head Start classes at Kent Family Center express thanks.

At the beautiful new Family Center, Jack and Mary Lou Becvar of Kent unveiled a donor wall. The Rev. Marvin Eckfeldt called the facility “a dream come true.” Head Start children gave donors leis. At the old Rec Hall, which will be transformed into the two-story Springwood Youth Center, the celebration focused on the construction to begin this month. Sharmarke Ahmed, a KCHA resident who will be attending the University of Washington with a four-year scholarship, credited youth facilities and programs with helping him become “somebody new” after rough beginnings.

Building Better Futures is a consortium based in Kent comprised of the King County Housing Authority, Puget Sound Educational Service District, Kent Youth and Family Services and Center for Career Alternatives.