A Bit About Us

Working Towards a Better Tomorrow

History:
Opened in 1908 by Women’s Home Missionary Society as a home for low-income and immigrant women. Became The Friendly Center in 1923 and began to focus more on neighborhood needs while still paying attention to women and children. Today this focus continues, as most clients are single women with children.

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Community:
Toledo’s first neighborhood, now a poor but diverse community with a mix of large, older homes being fixed up, slum lord housing, and three subsidized housing projects. The Friendly Center is located in a food desert with no grocery stores. Also serve 9,000 meals a year in an area where many people rent rooms and have no access to cooking facilities.

Services/Ministries:
1. Basic Needs – emergency food pantry, hygiene closet, Prevent Blindness Ohio
2. Project Success (youth) – Boy Scouts, tutoring, homework assistance, music programs, basketball
3. Adult Development – financial education, parenting, computer classes
4. Health & Wellness – Health By Choice feeding program and education
5. Community Events

Facilities:
Administrative building with offices, meeting rooms, food pantry, hygiene room; playground, sensory garden raised garden beds, murals; annex with gymnasium, game room, computer lab, classroom, and meeting space.

For more information:
419-243-1289 (phone)
419- 243-6243 (fax)
friendlycentertoledoumw@gmail.com