Orange County Opens 10,000-Square-Foot Tangelo Park Community Action Center

Orange County Government opened the Tangelo Park Community Action Center on Wednesday, October 14, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 5160 Pueblo Street in Orlando, according to the county. Mayor Jerry L. Demings and District 6 Commissioner Mike Scott headlined the event, joined by Tangelo Park community leaders and residents. The nearly 10,000-square-foot facility is the ninth county-run community center and will serve as a neighborhood cornerstone for decades, the county says. It will house youth mentoring initiatives, job placement and life skills programs, and other social service resources, with amenities including a computer lab, an indoor basketball court, an outdoor swimming pool and a multipurpose room seating more than 300. According to Spot On Florida's coverage, the opening ceremony featured a Tangelo Park Elementary student leading the Pledge of Allegiance, with county Community Action Division staff emceeing the celebration. Each year, Orange County's community action centers serve more than 250,000 residents across the county. County leaders say the center reflects a simple philosophy: that neighborhoods thrive when residents have the tools to help themselves. In the past year alone, the county's centers distributed more than 87,000 food boxes, helped nearly 800 residents find employment, provided 1,500 students with school supplies and logged 13,000 volunteer hours, according to the county newsroom. For Tangelo Park, a historically Black community in southwest Orlando, the new center represents a long-awaited investment. Residents who attended the opening said they hope it becomes a gathering place where young people can find mentors, job seekers can find help, and neighbors can simply find each other. Orange County operates nine community action centers, which together serve more than 250,000 residents each year. The county says the centers logged 13,000 volunteer hours in the past year alone, distributed more than 87,000 food boxes and helped nearly 800 residents find employment, and the new Tangelo Park facility is expected to anchor southwest Orlando for decades.

Photo: Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons