Springfield School was built in 1951 as a Black school during segregation.
For decades, this building educated children who were denied equal access to opportunity.
It is one of the last surviving Black schools of its era in Wilson County.
Today, it sits abandoned — covered in graffiti, broken windows, peeling lead paint, and decades of damage.
We refuse to let this historic place disappear.
We are leading the effort to restore this school and transform it into a modern arts and technology campus for rural Eastern North Carolina.
This project will bring:
- E-sports arena & gaming technology
- Youth digital literacy & coding
- Creative arts classrooms
- A restored gym for community events
- History & civil rights storytelling spaces
- Senior arts & engagement programs
- Free community workshops
- Full ADA accessibility
This is where the past and future meet:
A historic Black school reborn as a center for creativity, technology, and community.'
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW
We are trying to raise the first $10,000–$15,000 of funding needed to begin Phase 1 construction on the first 20,000 sq ft of the building.
We cannot begin:
- architectural drawings
- plumbing plans
- electrical layouts
- HVAC planning
- demo + safety preparations
…until this first round of funding is secured.
This is what your donation today makes possible immediately.
We are running this fundraiser as part of Giving Tuesday, and every dollar will be used to start the restoration process in early 2026.
WHAT THE FIRST FUNDS WILL COVER
Your donation supports:
- Architectural drawings (required before ANY work can start)
- Lead-safe demo prep & cleanup supplies
- Initial roof patching
- Electrical + HVAC assessments
- GC walkthroughs & early construction planning
- Community volunteer cleanup days
This gets us ready for the large grants and corporate partners already being lined up.
Without these funds, the project can’t move.
With them, Springfield becomes unstoppable.
THE VISION FOR SECTION 1 (Soft Opening in 9–12 Months)
The first phase of renovation includes:
- The gym
- The cafeteria
- The history room
- Three multipurpose classrooms
- The youth e-sports arena
- The main office suite
- ADA bathrooms & accessible hallway
These spaces will allow us to open the building to the public for the first time in decades —
Monday through Saturday, with volunteer staffing, youth programs, arts classes, and technology labs.
This is the start of a full 60,000+ sq ft campus restoration.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Rural kids in Wilson County and surrounding communities do not have access to:
- modern technology
- safe after-school programs
- e-sports opportunities
- arts education
- makerspaces
- digital literacy training
- intergenerational community spaces
We are changing that — starting right here in Lucama, on a historic Black school campus built during one of the hardest chapters in NC history.
This is not just a renovation.
It’s a restoration of dignity, access, and opportunity.
OUR COMMITMENT
We will share:
- renovation updates
- cleanup days
- floor plans
- volunteer calls
- before/after photos
- funding progress
- community victories
- grant updates
- construction phases
We want everyone to see their donations working in real time.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Donate
Every gift — $10, $25, $50, $100 — builds momentum.
Share
Share this GoFundMe with alumni, family, friends, churches, co-workers, local businesses.
Support In-Kind
If you or your business can donate materials, dumpsters, labor, supplies, or equipment, please reach out.
Volunteer
We will be organizing community cleanup days starting soon.
Thank You
This school raised generations of Black children when the world tried to deny them opportunity.
Now it’s our turn to fight for it.
Thank you for standing with us as we restore Springfield School and build the future our community deserves.
For any questions please contact:
Rickey Kirby: (609) [phone redacted]
Chandler Kirby: (609) [phone redacted]