S12 E41: Delaware State of the Arts - Reed's Refuge

When Fred and Cora Reed opened their hearts to the children of Wilmington, they sparked a revolution with Reed's Refuge Center, and their story is one that will inspire and uplift you. Their dedication has created a sanctuary where music, education, and comprehensive support blend into a harmonious symphony of hope for at-risk youth. In our intimate conversation, we uncover the depths of their passion, discussing how the center's growth from a musical haven into a full-fledged educational powerhouse has not only transformed lives but is also reshaping a community plagued by violence and negativity.

Join Terrance Vann, Fred and Cora as they share their personal triumphs and trials, including the joys and challenges of raising nine children, which have profoundly influenced their approach to building a nurturing environment for many more. We'll reveal the recent fundraising milestones set to expand the refuge's reach and the Reeds' dream of offering 24-hour crisis support. This episode is more than just an interview; it's a testament to the power of investing in our youth and an invitation to participate in fostering sustainable change that resonates through generations.

The Delaware Division of the Arts, a branch of the Delaware Department of State, is committed to supporting the arts and cultivating creativity to enhance the quality of life in Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Learn more at Arts.Delaware.Gov.

Delaware State of the Arts is a weekly podcast that presents interviews with arts organizations and leaders who contribute to the cultural vibrancy of communities throughout Delaware. Delaware State of the Arts is provided as a service of the Division of the Arts, in partnership with NEWSRADIO 1450 WILM and 1410 WDOV.

Transcript

Speaker 2: 0:20

For Delaware State of the Arts. My name is Terrence Van and I am joined today by Fred and Jim Miller of Reeves Refuge.

Speaker 1: 0:52

I am Jim Miller and I am the Chair of the Board for Reeves Refuge Center. I have been the Chair since 2019 and it has been a pleasure and an honor serving on the Board for this organization because, as I will express later, I think it is a very unique organization and I have seen firsthand the wonders that they have done in the community and how special it is for Wilmington. But we can get into that. I think once the listeners hear the story of Cora and Fred and how they got started, they are going to be very inspired.

Speaker 3: 1:43

How you doing. I'm Frederick Reed, co-founder of Reed's Refuge Center.

Speaker 4: 1:47

And I'm Cory co-founder of Reed's Refuge Center. Oh, what's with that.

Speaker 3: 1:53

Yeah, so just to give you a little brief, you know, on Reed's Refuge Center, we started like in 2012. I want to say our doors began to open. The idea, you know, came from a lot of violence that was going on in Wilmington. Wilmington was called Murder City and all these different, you know. You know negative names and you know music was always driving our youth, you know, to do some of the things that they were doing. It was, you know, getting them excited and inspiring them. You know to do some negative things.

Speaker 3: 2:22

And so, with a musical background, you know, I thought, well, maybe we can take that same, you know, concept but change the lyrical content you know, of the music. So that was our drawing card was music. You know changing the lyrical. You know changing the lyrical. You know lyrics and giving them, you know, giving our youth an opportunity to express themselves in a way that they can be heard and not to be negative. You know not. You know talking down in community, the orgatory, you know, to the women, those type of things you know.

Speaker 3: 2:50

So we wanted to give them a platform. You know where they can be heard and there's so many talented, you know, young people in Wilmington. You know, and you know, wilmington's a small city. So, and you know, we wanted to give opportunity for people to expound on their talents and their gifts. So that's where it originally came from, but then it turned into, you know, education, education. You know, once you know, I believe that I'm in my wife also. We both believe that once you know, we can get their hearts and get their attention and get them involved, then they're able to, you know, you can teach them at that point. So we begin to use music as a, you know, driving force to educate. You know, teaching them beats per minute.

Speaker 3: 3:26

You know, state of the art recording studio recording, and we added our culinary arts classes, which is called Cooking what Out of Stove, teaching our young latchkey. You know, youth, how to prepare full meals using a microwave, because a lot of them were going home, because their parents were in survival mode, having to work, you know, all the time. They were home alone sometimes, and they would, you know. So we gave them ways that they can use that microwave and the way they can make some healthy meals. You know, not just healthy meals, but smoothies, exposing them to different things, different fruits. You know different things. That's good for the body, you know. So that was our culinary arts. You know multi-media. We do multi-media here, teaching our young people how to fly drones. You know shoot videos, photography, you know. So it began to grow so speedily and fast, you know here. Do you want to add anything? Go ahead. Good morning.

Speaker 4: 4:18

Also one of the things that we do here at Reads Refuge. We make sure that the children are fed dinner at night. We make sure that they're red.

Speaker 4: 4:26

We have something called stream that we added stem from stem, we added reading, any arts to it and what we do is we allow, make sure that the children get homework help, their help with math, their help, they get help in reading and also, like I said, we make sure that they are fed when they go out of here. Only thing the parents really technically got to do with our children is maybe give them a snack and let them go to bed. All their needs have been met. One thing about Reads Refuge we try to fill in the gaps. We understand the struggle because Fred and I come from the same backgrounds.

Speaker 4: 5:03

He was born and raised over the Riverside Projects. I was born and raised over the West Side, so we understand the people, we understand their cry. So we try to be here and be that pillar in the community that actually helps fill in these gaps that the parents are struggling in Because, like Fred said, during survival mode nobody got time to prepare a full meal. We're used to giving them noodles and noodles. So it's like you got work, yeah, when you got to work, and you're trying to make ends meet. You know we don't have time to sit down and read to our children before they go to bed, so that's one of the things that Reeves Refuge tried to make sure that we read to the children before they leave here. And you know, we just make sure that all the needs of the children have been met after leaving Reeves Refuge Center.

Speaker 3: 5:54

Sure, and one of the things that I would like to add to that is that one of the things that make us very unique, we're proud owners of two childcare facilities, so we're and then Reeves Refuge is connected our non-profit right to the building, so we have an opportunity to have them from the cradle until they're adults. So a lot of times we get them. I mean, we have, you know, youth that we started back in what oh five with in childcare and we got some of the same students that came through that are actually working here and teachers here. At this point I'm just like we're getting old. We've been doing this for a long time. It's exciting to see, you know, that I had this little six week old baby and now they're like 19 and 20 and working in the facility, you know. So that's amazing to us.

Speaker 4: 6:42

And then and not only that. You know we're helping them. You know, when it comes to like jobs, we're employing them. You know we're giving them careers, because some didn't know that they like dealing with children. You know. So we haven't. You know we have a chance to. You know, allow them to see. Ok, if you want to really work with children, I tell everybody, this is the place that you think you want to be into, this business.

Speaker 2: 7:04

That's right.

Speaker 4: 7:05

Working with children Reeves, refuge and Reed to Learn Academy. This, this is the place that you come because you get a chance to. You know, start early, deal with the children early and follow them until they're adults. So this is like one of the places and I've had people come through here and really say, miss Reed, I want to. You know, I really want to work with children and I'm like, ok, well, I give you a job. And then they have said to me Miss Reed, you know what? I change my mind.

Speaker 4: 7:30

I'm changing my major in school because I don't want to work with children, and I'm glad that because to me, you have a passion. And if you don't have a passion and love, that's the most important thing If you don't love people and you don't have that spirit of love, this is not the police for you. I agree.

Speaker 2: 7:50

I want to take a minute to remind our listeners that you are tuned into News Radio 1450 WILM and 1410 WDOV for Delaware State of the Arts. Yeah, it's amazing, I mean it's amazing to be able to be in a child's life and give them that inspiration, that extra piece to get them through some of these times, and, you know, to have that support, because you know womatin, as we know, you know, I mean, growing up in womatin isn't always the easiest thing in the world and sometimes that support goes so. So it goes such a far away because when, when it's not there, you see what happens. You know what I mean. Like you were saying, changing that narrative is a beautiful thing and so if you could give our listeners what kind of led into creating Reed's Refuge, what were some of the steps on getting started, and you know what was that process like for you.

Speaker 3: 8:54

Well, it kind of got me in trouble getting started. Yes, it did.

Speaker 3: 9:01

So I guess we were actually running a building, the current building that we were in and we we had the keys to the entire 30,000 square feet or more, right, and I guess you know, one day I would just up in the upstairs part of the building and I had my little hacksaw and started cutting holes in the walls. I just had a vision. I had a vision to say like, because me, coming from Riverside, music captivated and helped me see outside of those four walls, of the drug dealers you know what I mean People on crack, people on, you know, seeing that stuff. Going to school, every day I'm on the bus stop and I'm watching the police chase people, all these different things.

Speaker 3: 9:42

But music was my way of escape because I could have very well gotten involved with the same things that were going on in my friends, Some of my friends, I lost them and different things were going on. And I said, well, if music helped me, you know, in that time of my life, then it can help some of these kids that are going through the same things right now. And I'm beginning to, you know, cut holes in the wall and begin to build a state of the art recording studio. And I was like, keep my wife downstairs with the kids. Yeah, For the daycare she stayed out there. So I had all my staff members, all guys. They said you can't go in there.

Speaker 4: 10:16

They did their best, trying to keep me downstairs. They really did, but for me, one of the things that you know encouraged us to do this as well was because me and Fred have nine children.

Speaker 4: 10:28

And having nine children. The struggle was Israel, you know, and it was, you know, all bodies, young men, or nine of them, but it was real for us and trying to get home and trying to prepare meals and trying to help with homework, it was just almost impossible. You know, we would be here from six in the morning until about eight, nine o'clock at night, every night, and then, when you know certain things would happen, we would have to stay even later. And it was just like, you know, just bringing our kids and start creating things that we needed as a family. We started creating things here in Reeves Refuge and we realized if we needed it, then we knew other families needed it, so it was like, yeah, we need to help everybody you know not just ourselves.

Speaker 3: 11:13

That's help everybody. That's really how we got started and you know, things began to grow and you know, and I mean we started gaining a lot of popularity through through the media, through social media, you know, to some of our one of our biggest awards in 2017, we was local Jefferson Award winners as well as national award winners. It was nice to be able to receive a Washington DC on a big stage and actually have like 15 of our students perform. So it started to create a platform for our youth that were one time trapped in those four walls of just the projects you know, and then you start to be able to see, man, this world is a lot bigger.

Speaker 4: 11:51

One of the things that we've experienced is a lot of children in the neighborhood. You know we're in that. You know pretty rough area, not Reeves Refuge. Reeves Refuge is on his island by itself, to us, no trouble, but you know a block from us. You know it's a lot of trouble, a lot of issues and problems that go on. And one of our children, a couple of our children they've been through a lot of different trauma. Yes, a lot of these children are dealing with a lot of trauma. So one of the goals of ours was to get counseling. You know, I really want to eventually. We're doing it on a smaller scale right now, but I really want to be able to have, like a site that is open 24 hours for crisis so we can provide therapy, so we can be here to provide that support. Because I realized at night it was many nights me and Fred have to purchase hotel stay. You know food, you know clothes, children going into the closet when would they go?

Speaker 2: 12:50

And it's amazing because I, you know, I was just on the website and you know I saw over a thousand, you know, children have been mentored. You know, and I mean that impact, you know, is almost beyond measure, because you know of those thousand, they might change someone's life just from having that experience at Reeves Refuge, you know. So it could be tens of thousands of people impacted in that ripple that goes out into the world just by putting that energy out there. And you know, another thing I want to salute, I want to salute y'all because you said you had nine children. I'm about to have my second child and, man, I'm tired. Y'all. I got a two-year-old. I'm about to have my second and I'm tired. Y'all just made me. Y'all just made me I had to sit up straight. I'm like, come on now, I got to, I got to get it right here.

Speaker 2: 13:42

You know what I mean so thank you for that inspiration also, you know what I mean, you know. So that's definitely get a big time salute there. You know what I mean. And just you come into conclusion here. You know, is there something that you want to leave the listeners with as far as where you're going in the future? What you're looking to, you know. What do you need? You know what I mean, what. What are some of the things that you see in your vision, you know, going forward.

Speaker 3: 14:15

Well, if I could start and I know my wife would chime in but one of our greatest accomplishments were being able to purchase this 39,000 square feet building. You know, right here in the northeast side of one was big stakeholders here now and one of the things is that we were able to purchase this during COVID in 2020. Such a great accomplishment. Not only not only that you know we have started renovations for a new process where Reeves Refuge actually is expanding. You know we are actually expanding 22,000 square feet more to be more of a service to not just our youth and children, but to the parents as well. Job finds, mental health. You know those are the type of things that we're getting growing in, and one of the things is Reeves Refuge will be. You know we want Reeves Refuge to be located in other cities. You know, throughout the United.

Speaker 3: 15:01

States.

Speaker 3: 15:02

That's a great goal of ours, you know, and one of the things is too that we would like to say is that if anyone wants to come by and give a tour even you, you know please come by, take a tour of the facility, you know it's I mean talking about it, don't sell it. Jim always said that, bring them here, please come down, you know one more time. And woman come take a tour of what we're doing over here in the northeast side of woman to hear a lot of negative stuff. By guarantee you're going to leave out of here inspired and excited when you leave out of this place.

Speaker 4: 15:32

Okay, and I would add that right now we need 5.8 million dollars to renovate this facility Right now.

Speaker 4: 15:42

We, like Fred said, we started we're doing. We're taking piece by piece. We are right now just trying to raise the rest of this money so that we can get all these rooms. Right now we're currently busting out the scenes we have. We have about our studio. We probably can hold about five children and four children in there at one time. We, once we do our expansion, we'll be able to hold at least 15 to 20 kids in the studio at one time.

Speaker 4: 16:11

In our library room right now we we can only hold about, I'll say, maybe five or six children inside the library. We want to create a library on this side of woman's and where they're able to actually, you know, the community can actually come in and come into the library. Not only that, we're trying to create a family therapy room so we'll be able to provide services to the entire family at one time. Another thing we're trying to currently we have a space of 12 computers In our computer lab. We want to be able to provide a space that we're able to house 25 children in our computer lab. So we have right now we're just trying to expand the Current programs that we have right now in the building. So we just need to expand and add to. That's it, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3: 17:07

Covered it. I think you, she pretty much covered it all and I just think that, um, you know, on this side of woman 10 again, you hear so many negative things. This is a beacon of light. If you look at our logo, you know, you look at that, that diamond in the wood we're that diamond in the rough, you know. And those streams that flow from Reese's refuge. You know, we pour love back into the community and I always believe that love is an action word. It ain't what you just say about, it's what you do.

Speaker 4: 17:31

We put in everything. It's the show that we are serious about helping our community.

Speaker 1: 17:37

Actually I'd like to speak on that if you don't mind, terrence, but before I do, I think it's important that we we thank Delaware Division of Arts because Through that organization We've been able to meet this year with Tony for Linda who, with the Delaware Alliance of Nonprofit Advancement, has helped us, has helped us Build the board, has helped us create some strategic initiatives. We have a Some board training that we still need to complete, but we've been able to do a lot of a lot of growth in just the last six months Through that initiative. So, through Tony's help and and, of course, through the Delaware Division of Arts, that was made possible and so thank you for that, thank you you know your organization for that, because it's been critical. We have. We had to do this and I think that went hand in hand with some other Positive things that our teams been able to do. Between the work that Fred and Cora have done and then with the board all together We've been able to do.

Speaker 1: 19:03

Together we've been able, in the last Year and a couple months, have been able to raise 775 thousand dollars in in Funds to to build this dream. They talked about expanding Reads refuge center and that is the goal we still need to raise more money, or said, five point eight million dollars. So what, really? What the board training has allowed us to do is to do the strategic plan that allows us to get to that point, and without that, you know, it's like not having a road map. But Until until we raised this is really critical, though, until we raised at seven hundred seventy five thousand dollars, 90% of the funding for ease refuge every year came from Fred and Cora, the whole thing all those years. So what is that about? Almost like ten years up, ten years. So the ten years or ten or ten years before that, 90% of the funding was Fred and Cora, and that, to me, is Putting your money where your mouth is feel so inspired hearing these stories and just you know, knowing that that work is being put in these kids.

Speaker 2: 20:34

You know they're going to be 50, 60 years old, looking back on the experiences they're having right now and telling their children. And you know so it's intergenerational change, like you were saying, and that's something that is such a blessing to us all because you know, you know the community it does take hard work, you know, to be in there in the trench and really be there with the kids in those moments. So, like Jim was saying, anyone listening to this hear that blessing that is. You know that is providing for the kids. And you know, really, you know, get down and reach refuge. You know, go in and you know, and see your checkbooks and donate.

Speaker 2: 21:19

You know, because this is absolutely a transformational thing in the community and I feel very blessed to be able to speak with you all today. And you know I look forward, absolutely I look forward to seeing all the wonderful things in the future and you know Reed's Refuge is popping up all over the country. You know, maybe, maybe international. We're going to keep that energy going and, like I said, I appreciate your time and we're going to sign off here. I'm just going to stop recording. Let me just make sure.

Speaker 1: 21:59

I okay, Thank you. Thank you again for the opportunity.

Speaker 2: 22:06

I'm honestly, I feel blessed just to again be able to um.