Third and Center organizes community events and projects, re-energizes senior center 

Since its founding six years ago, Third and Center’s work can be seen in numerous projects around the city of Ironton, ranging from artwork, to festivals to their last year of work at bringing programming back to life at the Ironton Senior Center.

And all of these efforts are united by a common thread, a sense of community.

Amanda Cleary, co-founder of the nonprofit and its director, said Third and Center was “founded on the concept of third places.”

“Your first place is your home, your second place is your work and your third place is the place is the community you like to spend time in,” she said. “We noticed in our Appalachian river region, that we are very much lacking in third places.”

The nonprofit operates with a board of seven members, and operates through state and federal grant funding and community donations from individuals, groups and businesses, as well as money from fundraising events, Cleary said.

“And all of our board members are from Ironton,” she said.

Cleary said Third and Center is “dedicated to building collaborative communities” and “strives through programming and events to create third spaces in our community.”

And a major portion of their work revolves around the arts, as was the case in their first project, installing a series of artistic bike racks at locations around downtown Ironton, as well as painting art in the crosswalks at the intersection of Third and Center streets by the Rotary Fountains.

Both of these projects were paid for with a grant from the Ohio Arts Council, Cleary said.

“We know art is a unifying measure, so introducing more arts and culture into our programming was very important from the inception,” she said.

While most of their projects have been Ironton-based, Cleary said the hope is for that to grow.

“We like to be as inclusive as we can, and our goal is to expand our programming to all of Lawrence County,” she said

Another project paid for through the Ohio Arts Council grant is Third and Center’s Inspire Arts Program.

Initially conceived as a youth program, Cleary said it is now designed to provide art education to all ages and demographics.

This program is also funded through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, she said.

“We provide artist-led art instruction to members of our community,” she said.

Last year, this program led to the Bobcat Academy at Ohio University Southern, where they provide five days of art classes. Cleary said the Inspire program has also offered pottery and spring and summer art classes.

Other art-related projects the group has organized are the painting of murals on the Ironton floodwall and by Moulten’s Field, as well as an underpass on the northern end of town.

And set to have its fourth year is the group’s Summer Solstice Music and Arts Festival, which will take place on the Ironton Riverfront on June 21.

“it is designed to be celebration of all things local,” Cleary said. “We have so many amazing, talented musicians in this area, as well as talented young people. The lineup is all local artists and the concept is to highlight those —  our makers, artisans, culinary professionals and others.”

Cleary said, last year, they added a songwriter round to the event, and the day is capped off with a talent show, with both youth and adult categories.

“It’s just an opportunity to show people how talented our region is,” Cleary said.

For the second year, the event will be proceeded with their First Cast event, a fishing event for local youth. The organizer of that, James Gordon, Third and Center’s chair, was honored with the Alumni Humanitarian Award at this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Awards at Ohio University Southern.

Other events the organization has put together are the Trash Bash, a community clean up event, which takes place again this year on April 26; and, in past years, the Ironton River Run, a run/walk and fundraiser for the group in downtown Ironton, which they held for three consecutive years.

In the past year, Third and Center has taken on a major endeavor for the city’s seniors.

Cleary said, when campaigning for mayor in 2023, she paid a visit to the Ironton Senior Center, where she learned they no longer had programming, with things having lapsed during the COVID-19 shutdown.

While her political campaign was not successful, she stayed engaged on the issue and took it to Third and Center, where they worked with the Lawrence County CAO and the county commissioners to have Third and Center take on programming at the center.

“I went to our board and there was an enthusiastic ‘Yes,’” she said of proposing the move to the nonprofit.

Cleary said Third and Center has hired a paid employee, Michael Gleichauf as program coordinator for the center, as well as a part time employee.

Since taking on the programming, they have organized many evets at the center, such as art and music classes, bingo, health screenings, chair exercises, community outings and holiday programming.

Cleary said they have also hosted organizations such as SNAP and HEAP, letting seniors know what resources exist for them.

They have been able to turn the kitchen of the center, located in the Park Avenue Apartments building, at 202 Park Ave., into a community collaborative kitchen and the space is used for meal preparation for Fat Boy Q and Frankly Stellar Events and Catering.

Cleary said Third and Center is applying for a grant from Area Agency on Aging District 7 and they hope they will be able to provide meals at no cost for seniors through that funding. The current cost is $4 per person.

“Our goal is to have a place where seniors can eat for free,” she said.

She said they are also working with the Briggs Lawrence County Public Library, who brings in additional programming.

“They do wonderful things, like Jeopardy! crafts and a book club,” she said.

The senior center is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Cleary said. The first hour is social hour, and then programming begins at 10:30 a.m.

The center is located on the second floor of the building, but Cleary notes it is fully ADA accessible. She makes a pitch to the community to come by.

“We just want to let seniors know the center is a welcome space for everyone,” she said. “Our goal is to provide connection and community. You don’t have to be from Ironton to participate.”

In addition to their own projects, Cleary said another goal of Third and Center, since their founding, is to provide a mechanism for members of the public to bring their project ideas to them, so that they can partner with them.

“They would not have to create a nonprofit,” she said. “It is a way to empower the community to be the change they want to see.

She said the overall aim of their group is to engage the community, particularly young people.

“We want to give them opportunities to create experiences that make them proud to be from Ironton, southern Ohio and Appalachia,” she said.

For more information on Third and Center, visit www.thirdandcenter.com, where a calendar for the senior center is posted, as well as a list of events for the community. Sponsorship opportunities are also included on the website. The group can also be followed on Facebook. σ