Longtime New Cassel resident, community businesswoman and activist Shirley McCoy passed away in Louisiana on Tuesday, April 7 at the age of 95. While she lived a long and full life, she also leaves behind a legacy of benevolence that is sure to continue to help people for generations to come.
One such individual touched by the spirit of kindness that McCoy exuded was William Pruitt, executive director of the McCoy Family and Youth Center. Pruitt was so touched by her generosity, he said, that he actually asked to use McCoy’s name for the community center he founded.
“Ms. McCoy was always a plain-spoken person,” he said. “She didn’t mix words or pull any punches. She always said exactly what was on her mind, and that was part of what was so great about her. Based upon everything that she had done for the community, I had asked her if she would allow me to name the center after her in honor of all that she done over the years for New Cassel and Westbury.”
The McCoy Family and Youth Center of Westbury, founded in 2008, offered a whole host of services to the community, which included after-school activities, family and individual counseling, creative arts classes, physical wellness programs, summer camps and more. According to Pruitt, McCoy was a huge benefactor from the very beginning, donating both large amounts of money and her time.
“Ms. McCoy was a major supporter of the Family and Youth Center, and I had worked very closely with her for quite some time,” he said. “She was always willing to help anyone that needed her help, especially when it came to the interests of children and families…she was a real saint.”
Pruitt noted that McCoy was a driven, hard-working individual that had carved out a large, successful niche for herself in the community. He said she was more than happy to use that success to help those less fortunate then herself.
“Ms. McCoy was the founder and president of the first small business association in New Cassel about 30 years ago. She was also a real estate entrepreneur that owned numerous homes in the area, as well as the building that originally housed the McCoy Center,” he said. “In addition, Ms. McCoy also helped start the Miss Shelley’s Upward Prep School in Roosevelt, which is a private non-profit institution with early childhood education programs, youth development and family support programs…she was an amazing person.”
The McCoy Family and Youth Center was initially situated in a building owned by McCoy located on Prospect Avenue in Westbury; however, when her health started to decline in 2010 and it appeared that the building might be sold, Pruitt moved the McCoy Center to another location in Westbury.
In 2014, the services provided by the McCoy Center were transferred to and assumed by a separate not-for-profit organization called Espoir; the McCoy Center continues to function as an independent group that offers support and funding to Espoir and other charitable groups, and several McCoy members—inducing Pruitt himself—sit on the Espoir board.
Dr. Samarth Joseph is the founder and executive director of Espoir, which currently carries out the good work of the McCoy Center at their Westbury headquarters, located at 570 Main Street.
“We have a food pantry located on Prospect Avenue and we provide food to the community every Friday from 10 a.m. to noon,” she said. “We also help students with homework and tutoring, youth and family counseling, exercise and nutritional programs, and many other services the community needs.”
However, this name change has not diminished McCoy’s legacy; in fact, according to Pruitt, it only continues to grow.
“When the McCoy Center receives grants and donations, we assist Espoir and other groups, and we also run art programs and exercise programs,” he said. “In addition, I moved to Maryland a few years ago, and I’m working on starting a McCoy Center down here as well that would do the same things we did in New Cassel and Westbury, which is provide supportive services for youth and family. Shirley’s name is indeed spreading around.”
Part of what made McCoy such a special person was the fact that she had a caring streak a mile wide, according to her niece, Glenda Bryant, who currently resides in Louisiana and recalls her beloved aunt as “the greatest lady to ever have lived in New Cassel.”
“She helped everybody in the community,” she said. “Everybody in the community that needed any kind of assistance, if she could help them, she would. She loved her community, she loved her family, and she was always about education…that’s why she was so involved in the McCoy Center. There was nothing selfish about her.”
