Peace Community Center’s Bill Hanawalt honored at the White House

Fifteen years ago, the members of Peace Lutheran Church had a vision for their Hilltop neighborhood.

The congregation, which had worshipped at the same location — the intersection of South 21st Street and South Cushman Avenue — for nearly a century, wanted to offer hope and help to people struggling with the effects of poverty, blight and crime. They decided to build a gathering place, to be known as Peace Community Center.

Back then, Bill Hanawalt was a student at the University of Puget Sound and a member of the church. He helped build Peace Community Center, first as a volunteer during its construction and then as its executive director, a role he has filled since the center’s inception.

On Friday, the 37-year-old will be in Washington, D.C., one of nine people in the nation being honored at a White House ceremony as a “Champion of Change for Summer Opportunity” for his leadership in Peace Community Center’s summer learning program.

Hanawalt insists the award isn’t about him, but about the many who have coalesced to make the center a success.

“This is an award that recognizes the work of Peace Community Center volunteers, staff, Americorps members and donors,” he said.

Hanawalt was nominated for the honor by several Tacoma leaders, including Tacoma Public Schools Superintendent Carla Santorno, Mayor Marilyn Strickland and U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.

“Bill is a thoughtful, compassionate, true advocate for children,” Santorno said. “He demonstrates his core values through dedicated service to the community.”

Peace Community Center is a separate nonprofit organization from the church, with an annual budget of around $1 million. More than a quarter of its budget comes from individual donations, while support from grants, foundations, churches and other sources make up the balance.

The center’s summer program, which earned Hanawalt a trip to the White House, is a complement to what happens during the school year.

Peace Community Center staff and volunteers help run Hilltop Scholars, an after-school program offering academic help and enrichment activities to kids at McCarver Elementary and Jason Lee Middle School, and to Hilltop students who attend a variety of Tacoma high schools. While a new McCarver is under construction this year, the program has moved with its students to a temporary home at McKinley Elementary, on Tacoma’s East Side.

Last school year, Hilltop Scholars served 112 elementary students, 128 middle schoolers and 77 high school students. Even after scholars graduate high school, coaching and support — along with care packages of home-baked treats and notes of encouragement — continue for graduates who attend college.

Hanawalt says that while schools work hard during the school year to support learning, provide meals and a place of safety for kids, there are still gaps in learning for kids in poverty. When school supports are removed during the summer, he said, “those gaps become chasms.”

Hilltop Scholars tries to bridge those gaps with its five-week summer program. In it, elementary and middle school students receive around three hours of academic instruction in language arts and math from certificated teachers. Afternoons offer enrichment activities, such as art, golf and field trips to places like the Museum of Flight in Seattle or to a beach in Gig Harbor. This summer, Hanawalt wants to offer an overnight camp experience for middle schoolers.

Hanawalt has watched Peace Community Center programs grow over the years, as the Hilltop neighborhood itself evolved.

“There’s no shortage of students who are impacted by economic poverty,” he said. “There’s no shortage of the obstacles students of color face. What has changed drastically is the violence.”

The neighborhood, although still struggling, is no longer the epicenter of violence that it once was, he added.

But even at the height of the worst years, Hanawalt said, there was a sense of community.

“The solidarity, the relationships in this neighborhood — I think is something really unique and beautiful,” he said. “That’s something I hope the Hilltop doesn’t lose.”

What’s kept him engaged over the years?

Hanawalt said the center offers three things he’s passionate about: the Hilltop (where he and his family live), education and “a connection to a faith community.”

“We work with a lot of students and families who have a lot of different stories, assets, skills and challenges,” he said. “I continue to learn from the students and families we serve. I learn about courage, I learn about resiliency, I learn about faith.”

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Peace Community Center’s Bill Hanawalt honored at the White House."