Theo Ratliff
Activity Center

Demopolis, Alabama · Since 2005

For Demopolis.
For good.

A place where young people learn, neighbors move, families find support, and the whole community has room to gather.

See what’s happening
Children and program leaders celebrating the completion of a summer learning program at the center
Front entrance of the Theo Ratliff Activity Center
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A record of showing up

500summer meals served per day in 2024
5counties reached by the summer food program
300+young people at a single basketball camp
All agesfrom schoolchildren to seniors

What happens here

More than recreation.

For nearly two decades, the center has connected recreation with the practical support people need to thrive. Offerings change by season; call the center for current schedules and registration.

Explore featured programs Call (334) 289-2200
01

Learn

Youth learning & enrichment

After-school tutoring, homework help, summer learning, STEM and robotics, youth entrepreneurship, ESL, arts, music, public speaking, and academic support.

02

Move

Sports, exercise & play

Youth and adult basketball, free camps, open recreation, fitness activities, senior exercise, sportsmanship, and healthy ways to stay active.

03

Nourish

Food & family support

Summer meals for children across five counties, food distribution, parenting resources, school-supply drives, and family-centered community partnerships.

04

Care

Health & access

Mobile wellness and maternal-child health services, screenings, health fairs, mental-health partnerships, emergency response, and connections to rural care.

05

Connect

Workforce & civic life

Hiring events, adult computer and education programs, job-readiness support, public meetings, voter education, workshops, reunions, and local celebrations.

The community calendar

Meet us at the center.

See public programs and events, or send the staff a request for a new event. Approved requests appear here automatically.

Open full calendar

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Built here. Still building.

The story is bigger than the name on the building.

Theo Ratliff helped make the facility possible. Edward Ward and a wide network of staff, volunteers, schools, agencies, churches, health partners, and neighbors have kept turning that gift into useful work.

Framed Theo Ratliff jerseys displayed inside the activity center

From Demopolis to the NBA—and back to Demopolis.

  1. A hometown investment opens its doors

    Theo Ratliff’s contribution, together with public and private support, helped establish a 21,685-square-foot center designed for social, educational, human-resource, and recreation services.

  2. Summer days become full-service days

    Young people moved between arts and crafts, sports, swimming, Spanish, reading, nutrition, and free lunch while ongoing senior, parenting, and mental-health programs continued.

  3. STEM, service, and new horizons

    Seven AmeriCorps VISTA members supported STEM education and volunteer recruitment. A flight simulator encouraged interest in aviation, alongside tutoring and ESL.

  4. The center meets the moment

    Hundreds joined free basketball camps. Families received school supplies. The center hosted rural screenings, then supported virtual learners and provided COVID testing and essential items.

  5. More room to serve

    A $2.7 million FEMA-supported storm shelter, auditorium, and commercial-kitchen project was announced. Mobile wellness, maternal-child health, hiring events, Healthy Happy Kids, and Class Day Out continued the center’s broad reach.

About this history: We assembled it from school and city pages, local reporting, federal and university records, public nonprofit filings, and the center’s public Facebook groups.

Demopolis City Schools Demopolis Times AmeriCorps Black Belt News Network

Leadership & community

The people who keep the doors open.

This work belongs to a whole community. These are two of the leaders at the center of its story.

Theo Ratliff in front of a Philadelphia 76ers backdrop

Founder

Theo Ratliff

A Demopolis native, 2001 NBA All-Star, three-time NBA blocks leader, and 2023 Alabama Sports Hall of Fame inductee. His defining hometown legacy is a facility created to give young people—and every generation around them—more opportunity.

Read his Hall of Fame profile
Director Edward Ward with a young community member inside the center

Director

Edward Ward

Public records document Ward leading the center since at least 2010. He has coordinated programs, volunteers, public partnerships, and the everyday work behind tutoring, meals, camps, health access, civic events, and the center’s next expansion.

“We want to provide services to as many kids that need it after-school.”
A large summer program group gathered on the center gym bleachers

Staff, partners & volunteers

A lot of hands make this place work.

Educators, coaches, program leaders, volunteers, local organizations, and families turn the building into a community. As the team shares names, roles, and portraits, this section is ready to grow into a fuller staff directory.

UAB Moms and Kids Mobile Health Clinic outside the center

The next chapter

A bigger role in community safety and health.

The planned FEMA-supported expansion brings a storm shelter, auditorium, and commercial kitchen next to the center—space intended to serve people every day and support the community during emergencies.

Recent partnerships have also brought mobile wellness, food access, maternal-child health services, and healthy-family programming directly to Demopolis.

Come through

Your community center is here.

306 1st Avenue
Demopolis, Alabama 36732

(334) 289-2200
ratliffcenter@westal.net

Get directions

For day-to-day photos and announcements, join the public TRAC community on Facebook.

Visit the Facebook group

Start a request

Bring your event to the center.

Tell the team what you have in mind. This is a request—not a reservation—until staff approves it. Once approved, it will appear on the public calendar.

Community event