Local Fruit Company Will Help to Refurbish Aging Community Center

Washington Fruit and Produce in Yakima will be donating $250,000 to renovate the Miller Park Community Center.  The building which houses the City of Yakima's Gang Free Initiative and the Yakima Police Activities League will soon be renamed the Washington Fruit Community Center.  Washington Fruit's Operations Manager Tommy Hanses says his company will be giving $50,000 a year for the next five years. "This is where a lot of our employees live, this is where we work, this is our community, and by this investment we can see the changes taken place, we can see our philanthropy dollars at work,  and we can see a direct result of our investments back into the community.

The City of Yakima will match the $250,000 Washington Fruit is giving, which means a total of $500,000 will be invested in the facility to make it better suited to its current and future uses.

Improvements to the building include new windows, lighting, renovated classrooms, rebuilt
restrooms, a refurbished kitchen and improved communication capabilities, and changes that will make the building compliant with ADA requirements.

Hanses went on to say “The men and women who work for Washington Fruit are truly the backbone of the company,”said Hanses. “Whenever an opportunity comes along to improve the lives of our employees and their families, we take advantage of it. Being able to contribute to refurbishing the community center is something Washington Fruit is proud to do.”