Vanessa Hughes knows that many people in the community have questions about the future of the Gateway Classic Sports Foundation. That’s why she is inviting people to the foundation, 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr., at 10 a.m. Friday, May 30 to take questions and address concerns.
Hughes, a niece of founder Earl Wilson Jr., took over the foundation after Dawn Fuller resigned due to health concerns. She and Arthur Tyler, also a nephew of Wilson’s, are serving as volunteers to take care of some pressing foundation business.
The foundation has scholarship commitments to eight students. Hughes said she is “battling” to raise an additional $25,000 to meet those obligations for 2014.
The foundation was left in the lurch, she said, by a disastrous financial outcome of its 2013 Gateway Classic football game. She said the foundation is now out of the HBCU football game business.
What business the foundation will pursue is an open question. She said she is determined to preserve the facility as a community center. The foundation board had put the facility on the real estate market earlier this year, she said, but it is no longer listed for sale.
“I vowed not to let that building on the corner go without fighting for it,” Hughes said.
She said the facility has a computer lab that seats 20 or 30 people, which is currently under-utilized. The facility is available for bookings for birthday parties, weddings and other events. She said Saturdays are booked pretty solid but they are looking to book Friday nights.
The foundation rents a room to Rescue Church and Pastor Shawn Ward on Sundays. It also has a regular tenant, Peoples Community Action Center, that leases 1900 square feet of space that will become available in October.
Hughes, mother of former NBA player Larry Hughes, said she continues to run the Hughes Family Foundation with its mission to increase the organ donor registry. But at the moment, she has another family foundation to save.
“My immediate goal is to see each of these students through under the scholarship program that exists,” she said. “My vision is to stay in the community and become a cornerstone in the community.”
For event or facility rental, contact Arthur Tyler at Arthur@gatewayclassic.org or 314-621-1994. To contribute to the scholarship fund, contact Hughes at Vanessa@gatewayclassic.org or 314-621-1994 ext. 211.
