Image is of FEEST Staff before cutting the purple ribbon to our new space!

Last weekend, we gathered to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the White Center Community Development Association (WCCDA) HUB, a space named after the energy it is rooted in: Hope, Unity, and Belonging. The HUB is the result of a decade of community-led vision, organizing, fundraising, and persistence. Huge congratulations to the WCCDA on reaching this major milestone. We are honored to be joining a community of incredible organizations: Community Hoots Housing, Southwest Youth & Family Services, YES! Foundation, and HealthPoint. In addition, the HUB also is allowing us all to enrich our program offerings with the White Center CDA Early Learning Center, a medical and dental clinic, a coffee shop, recording studio, event hall, commercial kitchen, maker space, and playground. 

The ribbon cutting felt both celebratory and meaningful. Staff from the various organizations operating within the HUB, families from the new affordable housing units, community members and leaders, organizers, and decision-makers from across the city and state came together to mark both an arrival and a beginning. It was a moment to honor what has been built and the work it took to get here.

For years, FEEST has been a partner in the WCCDA HUB project, standing alongside organizations and community members who believe in the importance of creating a permanent, accessible space for organizing, care, and community. In January, FEEST officially moved into the HUB, deepening our relationship to a space we have long been invested in and proud to support.

During the program, FEEST’s Executive Director, Jaimée, shared a few words congratulating WCCDA on the accomplishment and reflecting on the long arc of the work. Jaimée recalled the day Sili first told them that FEEST would be part of this vision, grounding the moment in memory and reminding us how powerful it is to see something imagined years ago come fully into being.

That sense of legacy carried through the speeches. Speakers rooted us in the history that made the HUB possible and named a truth we hold closely at FEEST: infrastructure is not neutral. Buildings, kitchens, meeting rooms, and gathering spaces shape what is possible. They influence who gets to convene, who feels welcome, and whether organizing efforts can be sustained over time.

In a moment when so much feels unstable, the WCCDA HUB stands as a reminder that stability itself is political. Creating a permanent home for community organizing, affordable housing, healthcare, and services for youth and elders is an act of resistance. It affirms that relationships deserve care, that organizing requires time, and that our communities deserve spaces where they can gather without fear of displacement.

For FEEST, being part of the HUB is about being in a closer relationship with our neighbors and fellow organizers, and about sharing space with people who are actively shaping a more just future.

As we look ahead to 2026, the HUB will continue to be a place where deeper questions are asked, shared analysis is built, and community knowledge is turned into action. It will also be a place where we return to food, culture, and togetherness as tools for connection and organizing, reinforcing the foundations that sustain long-term change.

Congratulations again to WCCDA on this incredible achievement. We’re grateful to be here and honored to be building alongside you! 💐💜🌱