BY JOHN MCCANN

jmccann@heraldsun.com; 419-6601

DURHAM -- The idea here is for Lisa Ivey and the rest of the Legacy Center's NC 112 Leadership Team to understand that if they can dream big and make something really grand happen at Faith Assembly Christian Center Child Care Center, then they can do the same sort of things for themselves.

Come Tuesday, the ribbon-cutting at the day-care center on Fayetteville Street will be the culmination of a week of organizing and fundraising in order for three classrooms there to get some needed makeovers -- new ceiling tiles, new furniture, fresh coats of paint.

And NC 112 team members couldn't use any of their own money to get it done. They had to reach out to the community for both financial and material help. It's the kind of skill Ivey could put into practice when it comes time for her to launch that group home for women and children she's been wanting to do.

The Legacy Center is a Morrisville-based institution aimed at personal development and empowering people to be change agents in their communities and organizations. Ivey -- a trained hairstylist who recently was laid off at a call center where she was a supervisor -- said she came down here from Boston to get trained at the Legacy Center.

"We're about building and transforming lives," said Ivey, the NC 112 captain. "We can't just hope and dream. We have to make it happen."

Arnita Blacknell is the director of the day-care center. The renovations NC 112 team members did over the weekend were things she and her church family wanted to get done. Yet because rates at the day-care center are low in order to make child care affordable for the clientele of low- and moderate-income families, generating the money to do various fix-ups there would take years and years, Blacknell said.

But along came the NC 112 team.

"To have the heart to do something is one thing, but to have the heart and the means is another level," Blacknell said. "It's an answer to prayer for our pastors."

NC 112 team member Leslie Riley said the project that took place over the Labor Day weekend is an example of working-class families reaching out to other working-class families.

"It's gon' be beautiful," NC 112 team member Tonya Johnson said.

For more information ...

Learn more about the Legacy Center by visiting www.TheLegacyCenter.com or by calling (919) 678-6000.

Group accepting donations

Members of the NC 112 Leadership Team are trying to raise $18,000 to pay for the renovations they did at Faith Assembly Christian Center Child Care Center. So far, they've generated close to $6,000, NC 112 team captain Lisa Ivey said.

To donate to the cause, visit www.active.com/donate/daycare.

Learn more about the child-care center by logging on at www.faccministries.org or (919) 687-2763.