Shelby Help Line Ministries has officially unveiled plans to build a 4,500 square foot building addition to the existing 2,500 back building located at 29 ½ Walnut Street.
Executive Director Sheryl Cramer explained Shelby Help Line has been in need of expanded facilities for some time. The projected cost of the final project is $566,000.
“What we’ve always tried to do here was add services for the need wasn’t being met elsewhere,” she said. “As we’ve added those, the space has overlapped many times.”
Currently Shelby Help Line offers services including budgeting classes, clothing ministry, GED academy and Shelby Christian Outreach free meals, among many others. Cramer stated when multiple activities are held on the same day, people are everywhere. Particularly the lobby cannot handle such an influx of people, and people have been turned away from budget classes due to lack of space.
“We’ve had to double up so much on space that it’s not working now to be able to carry out some existing services,” said Cramer. “We have different agencies that share office space and that’s become more complicated.”
Thanks to generous grants and pledges from the Richland County Foundation, the Shelby Foundation, the Shelby Ministerial Association, the SN & ADA Ford Foundation and area businesses, $291,000 of the total $566,000 has already been raised to go towards the building fund. This will help complete phase one of the project, which will include a poured floor, framing and enclosing the shell of the new addition, as well as roughing in of plumbing and HVAC.
The second phase of the project will include the purchase of materials and fixtures and finishing the interior spaces, much of which Cramer hopes to be accomplished with the help of volunteers. The projected cost for the second phase is $278,000.
“The first phase was to put up the shell and get that completed, and then the inside phase will be completing the interior work and to collect the funds to buy the materials,” said Cramer. “The outside shell will be complete this fall, starting on the work sometime this summer to be completely under roof before winter, and then volunteers can work on the inside space.”
The building expansion will include a multi-purpose room, office spaces, a meeting room, and larger spaces for clothing displays and the food pantry. Together, the two buildings will accommodate the complete range of programs and services, while providing space for new programs and classroom learning opportunities.
“We want to be able to provide the existing services but also then we would like to especially increase our life skill education, so in the new facility there will be space for much larger classroom space that can either be used as one large conference room or divided into two rooms,” explained Cramer.
On Sunday, May 4, the Shelby Help Line Ministries building addition campaign will kick off with a groundbreaking ceremony from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. complete with dessert and punch as guests observe the ministry booths, building plans and opportunities to participate. With over half of the funds already raised, Cramer stated will now be up to the community to fund the rest of the building expansion.
“We’ve gone to the foundations and the businesses and now we’re going to the general public to finish out the rest of the campaign,” she said.
For more information on volunteering or donating to the building expansion project, call Shelby Help Line Ministries at 419-347-6307.
