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In 2007, the Sheboygan Press
ran an article titled “Auto Dealer Gives Center For Seniors, Kids A Boost: VanHorn Auto Group donates $150,000 to efforts based in Plymouth.”This center is the Plymouth Intergenerational Center and has been in the works since the 1990′s. The Intergenerational Coalition states that they are “committed to linking generations to build a strong and healthy community that supports and engages people of all ages.” With building the new center their dream is “to create an intergenerational community for generations to learn from each other, help each other, and work together to build a strong environmentally friendly community through civic engagement.” The center will house the Plymouth Senior Center, Here We Grow Child Center, the Family Resource Center, and Head Start.
It is easy to see the parallels
between the vision of the Intergenerational Coalition and Chuck Van Horn’s
committment to having positive role models for children and young adults (he is
a long time volunteer with the Sheboyan County’s Big Brothers & Big Sisters
program). Chuck has been involved with the Intergenerational Coalition for
years, and he says he “believes in the concept of putting old and young
together. The wisdom and knowledge adults have is often-times wasted in our
society. If the Intergenerational Center can put young people and older, wiser
people together, that theory makes a lot of sense to me.”
The Intergenerational Coalition has been raising money through their Capital Campaign, and finally were able to break ground in the Spring of 2010! Check out their progress:
They
expect to complete the building within 8 months to a year. Coalition board
president, Marsha Vollbrecht, told the Sheboygan Press “The donation from the
Van Horn Group put us in a wonderful position to go forward.” Click here to read more about our donation and for more information on the Intergenerational Center!