Building lives for a better Harrisburg since 1910.
Our Mission
The Neighborhood Center builds a vital community by serving and empowering children, youth, and families.
Our Vision
Building Lives. Better Community. Better Harrisburg.
Guiding Principles
- Foundation: We are committed to being a Center of Christian life, love, health, and inspiration.
- Community: We are committed to the concept of living and learning in a Christian community.
- Response and Service: We are committed to responding to expressed needs of individuals and community.
- Human Potential: We are committed to maximizing both individual potential and community empowerment
History that spans over a century.
The Neighborhood Center has served the total Harrisburg community since 1910. Formerly known as the Methodist Mission, Neighborhood Center has a proud history of meeting the needs of the community.
The Center specializes in innovative approaches to address community needs, among them the first kindergarten for African-American children in Harrisburg; the development of one of the first programs for physically and learning disabled children, which was used as a model within the Harrisburg School District, Young Mothers Together, one of the first agency responses to the high teen pregnancy rate in the city; and TICKET, a unique one-on-one tutoring program based on the teaching methods of Sylvia Ashton Warner.
Neighborhood Center’s Lenore Haas Alexander Playground located on the southeast corner of 3rd and Kelker Streets opened in June of 1990 and serves as a safe place where families can bring their children to play.
The Center celebrated their 100th Anniversary of service in 2010, which reaffirms our commitment to the future of our community through work that emphasizes personal and community empowerment. We will continue to strengthen our relationships with community stakeholders so that we can work collectively in our efforts to building Better Lives, Better Community, Better Harrisburg!
The mural pictured here is the Neighbor Center Mural, created in 1979. Information on the mural, found on Maclay Street, can be accessed by clicking here.
The Neighborhood Center subscribes to a policy of equal opportunity. The agencies policies, practices and procedures will be designed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, race, creed, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, familial status, use of guide animals, physical or mental disability, or Veteran’s status
Powerful partnerships that translate into our services.
- Neighborhood Center is a National Mission Institution an affiliated agency of the Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church and is in a covenant relationship with the United Methodist Women National Office.
- Neighborhood Center is a registered 501(c)(3) organization, and tax-exempt as a religious organization under PA law.
- Neighborhood Center is a partner agency of United Way of the Capital Region.
- Neighborhood Center’s childcare programs are licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
- Child Care Consultants, Inc. of the South Central Region has designated Neighborhood Center’s childcare as a STAR 4 site under the Pennsylvania Keystone STARS Quality Assurance standards.