Our Story

A young boy with short curly hair and dark skin, wearing a white t-shirt, stands outdoors with trees and an open area in the background. He has a serious expression and holds his hand near his mouth.
Two young boys standing in front of a chain-link fence, with houses and a yard visible in the background, posing for the photo.

Wesley House Community Center was established in 1907 in Knoxville, Tennessee by three United Methodist Women groups. These hard-working mothers were at the cotton mill to support their families, and therefore their children were lacking supervision during the day. The UMW recognized this need and thus created the Wesley House. Since then, our organization has been providing after school and summer camp services for Knoxville’s most under-resourced and marginalized communities. In the 1950s, Wesley House saw another need in the community, this one being for senior citizens who were experiencing social isolation. To assist these members of the community, the Wesley House provides our Senior Citizen Support program which supports senior citizens in the Lonsdale, Beaumont, Mechanicsville, and East Knoxville communities. Finally, in 2020, Wesley House continued to expand their service to the community by establishing the Emergent Needs program to provide local citizens with food and clothes from our Red Bird Community Store.

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Group of children sitting and standing outside, some drinking from juice boxes, in front of a building with fire escape stairs.
Black children playing on a swing set in a residential neighborhood, with houses and a lawn in the background.
Four women gathered around a small outdoor table with a teapot, cups, and various small items, engaging in a social activity on a residential street.
A woman is holding a crying baby, a visitor and a young child are in a hospital room.
Two children, a girl with curly hair and a boy, are standing outdoors and holding hands, both barefoot, with a dirt ground and grass in the background.