Small town nonprofit’s social model for community sustainability

Press release from The Melrose Center

MELROSE, Fla. – The Melrose Center is a 501(c)3 non-profit, dedicated to fostering community in the greater Melrose area. It is a community cafe open five days a week, Tuesday through Friday, from 8 a.m. -1 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. They have live local music performances 2-3 times a week on Thursdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and the first and third Friday of every month in the evenings.

Melrose straddles four counties – Alachua, Putnam, Clay, and Bradford. The Melrose Center is a community staple and has brought so many people together.

The Melrose Center is built on the idea that inclusion and diversity is a community strength. That people deserve access to healthcare they can afford, access to healthy food and nutrition, and social connectedness. The development of community economic stability that is geared towards helping people in the community offset the rising cost of living, with the ultimate goal of creating a space where people can age in place.

As part of their community values and initiatives, the center holds health fairs in the mornings on the first Friday of every month from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., providing FREE healthcare evaluations for diabetes and cholesterol, access to a pediatrician and general physician, and referrals to UF’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD). All free of charge regardless of insurance status. People from all four counties come to access these services. The first Friday of every month from 6-8 p.m., the center and their partner gallery Studios of Melrose, participate in the Melrose Art Walk, which brings music, food, and art together, providing social connectedness and nutrition as part of the non-profit’s core values.

All sales from the Melrose Center and Art Gallery fund the community initiatives and help keep the doors open!