Ministry with Community to celebrate new building with grand opening party
By Madison Bennett | MLive
KALAMAZOO, MI - Ministry with Community officials are inviting the public to join them Tuesday, Nov. 1, to celebrate the grand opening of their new building at 500 N. Edwards St. in Kalamazoo.
The event, starting at 4:30 p.m., will include self-guided tours of the new facility, member testimonials and an awards ceremony. The location officially opened on Sept. 15.
Ministry with Community is a non-profit organization that serves as a resource center and daytime shelter for anyone struggling with homelessness, poverty, unemployment mental illness and/or other challenges.
The new building moved a few blocks to North Edwards Street from its previous location on Church Street. The additional 10,000-square-feet allowed the organization to add more washers and dryers, adequate kitchen space, classrooms, a full computer lab and more.
"We had spent so long at Church Street trying to fit so many different services into a space that had never been designed to accommodate those services or the sheer number of people that were coming in," Executive Director Rob Oakleaf said.
The organization offers free laundry services, storage, meals, telephones, computers and more to those in need. Their new building also includes classrooms where they offer different club-like groups for their members to join or partake in like knitting and bingo.
"We need to have space where we can express ourselves, where we can be individual, and creative and have fun," Oakleaf said.
From something as simple as a waiting area, Oakleaf said they're still getting used to the "sophistication" of their new space.
The $6 million project was funded by donations from the community and local foundations as well as a $1 million challenge grant from William and Julia Van Domelen's foundation.
The resource center is open from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information and to learn how to get involved, visit ministrywithcommunity.com.
This post originally appeared Oct. 31, 2016 on MLive.com.