Calfee Center fundraising gala set for June 20

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The Calfee Community and Cultural Center (former Calfee Training School) with a new roof and new windows after construction project funded by a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service, matched by funds raised by the Calfee Center. (Photos courtesy of Jill Williams)

BY DANIELLE REID

Patriot Publishing

Members of the Calfee Community and Cultural Center cordially invite everyone in the New River Valley to enjoy an evening of glamor, dining, music, dancing and entertainment at the Center’s 2026 fundraising Gala.

The Omni Center in Fairlawn will be hosting the event on Saturday, June 20, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Dinner will be catered by Donna Hodge of Commonwealth Catering. “The Spin Doctor,” aka Dr. Michael Hickman, will provide the music and entertainment as the local DJ.  This is a ticketed event.  This year’s Gala theme is “Together We Rise.”

Included in this year’s Gala will be the recognition of the Calfee Legends of Excellence.  Four individuals have been nominated to the Calfee Hall of Fame.  Their names are Lane Penn, Dorothy Penn Johnson, Rev. Gary Hash, and Edith Adams Hampton.  The first three individuals are former students of Calfee. Although Edith Adams Hampton did not attend Calfee, she will be the first non-Calfee alumni to be included as a Legend of Excellence honoree.

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Calfee Center Board members Dr. Mickey Hickman, Bob Hubble, Elaine Powell Hawkins, Haileigh Taylor, Grace Hurst, and Colette Hash pose for a photo at the Calfee Center’s first gala in 2022.

From 1894 to 1966, the Calfee Training School educated African American children in Pulaski. Faced with severe underfunding from Jim Crow segregation, the Calfee Training School became a community, helping children and their families reach their full potential.

Now the Calfee Community & Cultural Center is revitalizing the positive aspects of this legacy by supporting all of Pulaski County’s children, families, and organizations, building a stronger future for the region.  The current members of CC&CC are hoping to be an asset to the Pulaski community by providing services that enhance cultural and learning experiences, and serve the present needs of the community and create a stronger future for Pulaski.

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Everyone is all smiles at this table during a prior gala.

While the first phase of the CC&CC is complete, plans to expand and enhance the building and programs is underway.  In this first phase, the Chauncey and Lucy Harmon Learning Center has been operating on a daily basis, with 30 children enrolled.  The Center offers high-quality early childhood education and out-of-school care to families from any background or income level.  School children from ages infants, toddlers and preschool, are fed meals prepared in the Lena Huckstep kitchen and cafeteria.

Dr. Hickman explained that Lena Huckstep was the Calfee Training School cook and she made sure that the students got good meals.

6 5 calfee dance“Her cornbread was so good, it was almost like eating a dessert,” he chuckled.   The new kitchen, which is named after Huckstep, will also serve as a community kitchen once the interior is complete.  It has already doubled in its original size.  The expected completion is late fall.

The African American Museum Center is also projected to open late in the fall.

“The center is going to feature African American history centered around the Calfee school.  It will include political, social, cultural information as well as feature three Civil Rights court cases – which were some of the first victories that the NAACP won,” advised Hickman.

Another center to be opened late this summer is the Dorothy DeBerry-Venable Digital Lab.  “DeBerry-Venable was the first teacher to be brought in from West Virginia to teach at Calfee.  When the Calfee Training School shut down in 1966 due to integration policies, she was the only Calfee teacher to get a job as a classroom teacher in the public school system.  Then-superintendent Kenneth Dobson regarded her as a very superior teacher and she was a favorite with all the students,” said Hickman.

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Former PCHS CTE Director Megan Atkinson is the winner of the “Diamonds and Champagne” raffle and walks to accept her award, a diamond necklace courtesy of PR Sturgill’s Jewelers.

“GiveLocalNRV has said it will contribute to the funds raised on the GiveLocalNRV Giving Day to help support the Digital Lab,” stated Hickman.

The previous cafeteria and auditorium are scheduled to be restored as an event center in honor of two Calfee teachers:  Broadneaux and Baker.  Broadneaux had a band and Baker was a first grade teacher.

Many of the hoped-for expansions and upgrades depend on how effective the CC&CC fundraising efforts are.

“The Gala is part of the fundraising campaign and tying in with GiveLocal is instrumental for us.  What we’re able to do at the Gala, we can count some of the money collected there towards the Calfee projects.  We have some people who contribute beyond the purchase of the Gala tickets.  There are different categories we can enter and get cash prizes.  The most money collected can win a cash prize from GiveLocalNRV,” Hickman explained.

This year, 130-plus charitable organizations that serve the NRV are participating in the 13th annual  GiveLocalNRV Giving Day.  Hosted by the Community Foundation of the New River Valley (CFNRV), this year’s 24-hour fundraising event will kick off at noon on Wednesday, June 24 and end at noon on Thursday, June 25.

The early giving period for the event began Monday, June 1, enabling participants to fund raise for their work in the weeks leading up to the Giving Day. These organizations use the GiveLocalNRV website (givelocalnrv.org) for free to raise funds and awareness for their missions.  Additionally, these organizations are competing for the $25,000+ in grants and prizes that the CFNRV gives away during the event.  These awards are won either by meeting certain fundraising milestones or by random chance.

“The GiveLocalNRV Giving Day is about spotlighting the essential work of our region’s nonprofits and how donations fuel their work,” said Lindsey Gleason-Reed, the CFNRV’s assistant director.  “Every gift of $5 or more, combined with other gifts, helps participants ensure they can fulfill their missions each day.”

To purchase tickets to the Calfee Gala, please go to: www.CalfeeCCC.org/Gala2026

To donate to the Calfee Community & Cultural Center through GiveLocalNRV, please visit givelocalnrv.org

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