Fayetteville Urban Ministry Inc. serves as the parent organization to Emergency Assistance (EA), Adult Literacy Program (ALP), Find-A-Friend (FAF), & Nehemiah Project (NEH). As a non-profit organization, we depend on generous donations and various grants to provide our services to over 10,000 people a year, all at absolutely no cost to our clients.
Fayetteville Urban Ministry was organized in 1974 at Hay Street Methodist Church as a project of the local United Methodist District. The initial ministry was to provide emergency assistance to people in need of food, clothing and other resources. In 1976, an adult literacy program was added.
In 1980, the Board of Directors voted to become an ecumenical, interfaith agency and seek support from all local churches. Support came slowly but surely from all major denominations. Moving forward to grow Urban Ministry needed more funds to operate so we applied for grants from the state and federal levels that transitioned the organization into a community assistance and outreach program.
It became evident in 1982 that Urban Ministry needed more room to expand and improve out services and so the Find-A-Friend program was founded that same year. In 1987, an addition was built for EA and some partitioning was done to take care of office space needs.
In 1980, the Board of Directors voted to become an ecumenical, interfaith agency and seek support from all local churches. Support came slowly but surely from all major denominations. Moving forward to grow Urban Ministry needed more funds to operate so we applied for grants from the state and federal levels that transitioned the organization into a community assistance and outreach program.
It became evident in 1982 that Urban Ministry needed more room to expand and improve out services and so the Find-A-Friend program was founded that same year. In 1987, an addition was built for EA and some partitioning was done to take care of office space needs.
Due to the increase in services and clients in each program, planning for a new building became crucial in 1995. Property was purchased and by spring of 1997, the lot had been cleared, graded and final changes to the plans made. In spring 1998 all programs moved into the new facility at 701 Whitfield Street. In 2007 the Find-A-Friend program moved into the Lions Club building at 725 W. Rowan St.
As the Find-A-Friend Program continued to grow, so too did our need for space. In 2017 we enlisted the help of Emmy Award winning actor Sterling K. Brown to help kick off the Build the Dream Campaign to raise $700,000 to fund the construction of Fayetteville’s first-ever Youth Enrichment Center. The campaign began with a great head-start thanks to a incredible $115,000 donation from artist and philanthropist J. Cole’s Dreamville Foundation. In a span of 2 years, with the help of numerous donations from individuals and organizations, the Manning Family Find-A-Friend Youth Enrichment Center was fully funded and opened it’s doors on December 13, 2018 at 610 Whitfield St. Fayetteville, NC.
