For weeks, St. Luke AME Church, Ninth and New York streets, has searched for funds to help refurbish the church and pursue a Langston Hughes center there.

As of last week, the church found it.

Church fundraising director Bill Tuttle said local donations surpassed the $24,000 the church needed by March 1 to pursue a larger state Heritage Fund grant to fund repairs to the church.

Now, the church will wait until May to hear about the status of its grant application.

Tuttle seemed optimistic. He said a preliminary application he submitted in January generated positive responses, and that in the process of looking for funds, he thought there were larger donations the community would be willing to give.