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The Felician Sisters have turned away children from after-school and summer programs in Moon's troubled Mooncrest neighborhood because the community center has no more room, says Sister Rene Procopio.

"When they (the children) find out there's no room and they have to wait, that's when we lose them," Procopio said.

Although the center's programs serve roughly a third of the neighborhood's 150 children, "We're not helping everybody who's in need," Procopio said.

The Felician Sisters of the Beaver County-based Our Lady of Hope Province hope a $150,000 expansion of the community center will change that.

The sisters received approval from Moon officials to expand the community center by roughly 500 square feet. The single-story addition will nearly double the size of the center's existing multipurpose room, which is used for after-school and summer children's programs, monthly spaghetti dinners, art shows and musical performances. Covered deck space will be added.

The center can hold no more than 32 people at a time on dinner nights or no more than 37 children in the after-school programs, Procopio said.

"This would allow us to admit more children (into programs) and serve more families," Procopio said.

Although the nuns got the green light from Moon officials to move forward with the work, they need to raise some green first.

Procopio said the Felician Sisters applied for funding through various charitable organizations and state agencies. To date, 17 such applications have been sent out.

"We're counting on financial support to make this project happen," Procopio said.

She said she wants work to begin this spring and be completed by fall.

The Felician Sisters have been growing at Mooncrest since they started an after-school program there eight years ago, serving just six children out of a nearby Baptist church before converting four neighborhood apartments into a community center two years later.

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