Local Hero Ron Copeland and a Brief History of Our Community Place
This year’s adult summer reading program theme is Escape
the Ordinary. Massanutten Regional Library will host one extraordinary local
resident on Monday, June 8 at 1:00 p.m. at the Main library in downtown
Harrisonburg.
The early days
Ron Copeland bought The Little Grill in 1992 at the age
of 24. As the story goes, he underestimated the appetites of the JMU homecoming
weekend crowd, and with nothing to cook on Monday, he stayed closed. It was so
nice, he stopped opening Mondays. A few weeks later, when a man turned up at
the locked door looking for food, Ron let him in. The Grill’s weekly Soup Kitchen
was born. "It bothered me to live in a poor neighborhood, where there was
a certain segment of the population that couldn't eat in my restaurant,"
Copeland said. But "a soup kitchen can only do so much. ... The loneliness
[among the poor] is incredible."[1]
Recognizing the need for building community as well as
filling stomachs, grassroots organization Our Community Place (OCP) was formed
by Soup Kitchen volunteers in 1999. As early as April 2000, the Daily News-Record was reporting on OCP’s
plan to purchase a city building to create a community center, which would
expand upon the civic-minded mission of the Soup Kitchen. In addition to the weekly
meal, they planned for free classes, study groups, 12-step programs, a
community garden, and more. "I want to become reliant on the people in my
geographic community for my happiness and well-being," Copeland said.
"I want to be involved in the lives of my neighbors no matter who they
are."[2]
The group hoped to break down social barriers through cooperative community
meals, shared activities, and work.
OCP bought the former Salvation Army chapel on the corner
of Johnson and Main in January 2001. Though they had considered purchasing the
building for several years, they were spurred into action when the City
announced plans to turn the adjacent stretch of Blacks Run into a concrete
culvert. Since then, taking care of the creek has become just another facet of
OCP’s neighborly work. Throughout 2001, the group raised money through “monthly
dinner shows, yard sales, a spring festival and the oft reliable
jug-on-the-counter at the Little Grill.”[3]
To make up the rest of the funds, OCP solicited small loans from many local
residents, rather than one large bank loan. On January 2, 2002, they were able
to cut a check for the full amount of the mortgage and start renovations with
zero debt.
From building purchase
to grand opening
 |
| The old Salvation Army chapel. |
When The Little Grill became a cooperative in 2003, Copeland
was able to focus more on OCP. Around the same time, he felt a calling to
attend seminary, and OCP took a back burner in his life. However, after
graduating from Eastern Mennonite University in 2006, the community center
became his first priority again.
It took time to get the building ready for its purpose. Because
of the flood plain, they were unable to build on the property; they had to
renovate. In the early days, they fixed what they could as funds allowed,
starting with priority tasks like asbestos removal. Part of the building
required rewiring. New water and sewer lines, painting, constructing an office
and bathrooms, installing a new furnace, and putting in new windows were some
of the many projects required.
On Monday, August 18, 2008, OCP received its occupancy
permit and hosted its first Soup Kitchen at the new location. A group of 75 ate
sloppy joes, corn on the cob, stewed tomatoes, onion rings, squash casserole,
and garlic bread. They celebrated the official grand opening on Saturday, May
2, 2009.
Building community
From the beginning, OCP has supported and been supported
by the local community.
 |
| Working in the community garden. |
JMU Habitat for Humanity painted the building in 2001. In
2005, 10 students of the Shenandoah Valley Migrant Education Program painted a
mural there. Bridgewater College students raised $2000 and spent two years
building seven outdoor exercise stations--pull-up bars, parallel bars, a sit-up
bench, a balance beam, and signage for a walking trail and other exercises—outside
the building. Watt Bradshaw, president of Blue Ridge Energy Co., donated three
solar panels for heating water at the building, which served the dual purpose
of saving the organization money and educating community members about
alternative energy and sustainable living.
OCP might be best known for feeding the community. In
addition to their regular meals, OCP also serves on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
However, they do many other things to provide support and activities to people
who are homeless or struggling with poverty, addiction, illness, or other
difficult circumstances. The building serves as a meeting place for community
groups, church congregations, and organizations like Narcotics Anonymous. Skills
clubs have taught canning, knitting, car maintenance, and more. Skyline Literacy Coalition, which pairs tutors
with people learning to read, used the facilities for tutoring, while the Institute
for Innovation in Health and Human Services at JMU used it as a test site for
their “suitcase clinic,” providing mobile medical services for the homeless. Nor
is it unusual to find community members celebrating weddings, birthdays, and
holidays at OCP. "I won't really be happy with it until it's a vibrant
place with a lot going on every day,” Copeland has said.[4]
 |
| An April 2015 pottery class. |
The organization has had a lot going on both inside and
outside its walls. Their community garden has served the dual purpose of
contributing to the soup kitchen and building sense of community through
working together. In other agricultural pursuits, they ran Our Community Farm,
a live-in recovery center for men battling substance abuse, from 2010 to 2014.
The men worked the farm and participated in a 12-step program. As one former
resident put it, "As we're getting the weeds out of the soil, we're also
weeding our souls.”[5]
(Despite the program’s success, funding deficits led to the sale of Our
Community Farm after four years.) Another program of OCP is Our Community
Works, which since 2009 has matched
people who need work done with people who need work to do, particularly
the homeless or addicted who have job retention problems. The crew builds small
sheds, paints, does minor repairs, installs drywall and flooring, cleans
everything from apartments to cars, blow insulation, weatherizes, landscapes,
and gardens. However, it’s not all work and no play at OCP. In January 2013,
the troupe Our Community Plays! performed their first play. Written by JMU alum
John S. Wells and directed by retired JMU theater professor Tom Arthur, Invisible Man was about a mute homeless
man interacting with others on a subway platform. The play raised funds for OCP and provided a
creative outlet for community members. “In a sense, Our Community Place defies
definition, but at its core, it's a community center in the most literal sense
of the term,” as these examples suggest.[6]
Today
 |
| Copeland supervises in the kitchen. |
After Philip Fisher Rhodes served as executive director
from 2011 to 2014, Copeland returned to the position in December 2014. Copeland
“has a gift to minister to the most needy and broken, especially to befriend
them,” according to former OCP board member Brian Farrell. “Institutions can
get food and shelter for them…but what most of these people really don’t have
is friendship.”[7] Copeland
has been a friend to the Harrisonburg community for over 20 years, and while both
he and OCP have changed and grown over time, the goals have remained the same. "That's
what I want [Our Community Place] to be - joy and life and hope," he said.
"It's about loving people, and it's never going to be more than
that."[8]
by Kristin Noell
References
Applegate, Megan. “City nonprofit selling farm, paying
debts.” Daily News-Record. 21 Jul 2014
Bolsinger, Andrew Scot. “Getting into the kitchen.” Daily News-Record. 11 Dec 2000.
Bolsinger, Andrew Scot. “OCP to buy S.A. chapel.” Daily News-Record. 5 Dec 2000.
Bowser, Heather. “’Everybody works, eats’ – 75 turn out
for center’s first soup kitchen meal.” Daily
News-Record. 19 Aug 2008.
Bowser, Heather. “Homeless getting a lock on life –
center program to employ downtrodden in the city.” Daily News-Record. 7 Feb 2009.
Bradshaw, Vic. “After 4 years, OCP sells community farm.”
Daily News-Record. 4 Oct 2014.
Brownlee, Gail. “Ready to grow.” Daily News-Record. 11 May 2002.
Casal, Nicole. “A bit of Blacks Run saved from the city's
cement mixer.” Daily News-Record. 7
Feb 2001.
Cizmar, Martin. “Sowing the seeds of change – Ron
Copeland is putting his beliefs into action.” Daily News-Record. 9 Jun 2007.
Clarke, Jessica. “Live aid community place may extend reach.”
Daily News-Record. 3 Apr 2000.
Clarke, Jessica. “Skills club pools talents to help
community.” Daily News-Record. 22 Oct
2004.
Cole, Samantha. “Growing together.” Daily News-Record. 20 Oct 2012.
Delesline, Nate. “Bridgewater College finishes OCP
project.” Daily News-Record. 11 Nov
2011.
Jones, Jenny. “City building gets a mural with a message.”
Daily News-Record. 5 Aug 2005.
Jones, Jenny. “A community’s center – six years in the
making, OCP nearly ready to open.” Daily News-Record, 2 Nov 2007.
Knight, Preston. “OCP receives an energy boost.” Daily News-Record. 14 Dec 2013.
Lewis, Kate. “Center slowly shaping up.” Daily News-Record. 2 Aug 2002.
Mellott, Jeff. “A sense of ‘community’ – realization of
dream celebrated as OCP hosts grand opening.” Daily News-Record. 4 May 2009.
Mellott, Jeff. “Service-minded cyclists lend a hand.” Daily News-Record. 16 Aug 2001.
Mellott, Jeff. “Transporting life-giving care – ‘suitcase
clinic’ program brings hospital to city’s homeless shelters.” Daily News-Record. 30 Jun 2011.
Pagonis, Wendy. “Community center now has enough in the bank.”
Daily News-Record. 3 Jan 2002.
Pagonis, Wendy. “New soup kitchen seeks funding.” Daily News-Record. 11 Dec 2001.
Reynolds, David. “Fundraiser celebrates cooperation – Our
Community Place in city plans Thanksgiving opening.” Daily News-Record. 25 Jun 2007.
Sipos, Candace. “Room to grow.” Daily News-Record. 11 May 2013.
Sipos, Candace. “Taking OCP to the next stage.” Daily
News-Record. 30 Jan 2013.
Sipos, Candace. “Upcoming fundraiser benefits Our
Community Farm.” Daily News-Record.
17 Oct 2013.
Vanderhoek, Mark. “Battling elements, Our Community Place
inches Closer to goal.” Daily News-Record.
6 Dec 2002.
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