"The public portion of The Barnabas Network’s capital campaign starts Monday, Sept. 12 to provide $600,000 for The Barnabas Network to renovate property that was donated to the nonprofit by Mary Hart Orr and Katie Rose.
When completed, the 12,000-square-foot building at 838 Winston Street will serve as the organization’s new home, and will include offices, warehouse space for donated furnishings and a separate entrance for The Barnabas Network furniture thrift shop, Barney’s Basement.
The first and second phase of the campaign have been successful enough to start renovations, which are now underway. The Barnabas Network’s executive director, Erin Stratford Owens, will be onsite at 838 Winston Street —wearing a hard hat—Monday morning from 8 am to 10 am to discuss the campaign with the media and supporters.
The Barnabas Network provides basic home furnishings at no cost to qualified families and individuals who are transitioning out of homelessness or who are recovering from a housing crisis such as flood, fire or bed bug infestation. The organization serves nearly 1,000 local families annually. Individuals and companies donate the gently used furnishings that can help change a family’s life by creating a home.
The campaign is called A Home of Our Own: A Capital Campaign for The Barnabas Network and is headed by honorary chairs Kathryn and Bobby Long who are proud of the success of the campaign thus far.
“We have the incredible gift of the building and lots of supportive friends who have been loyal donors for many years and have gotten us this far, but we have a ways to go to be able to finish this project and need the support of the larger community to make it happen,” says Kathryn Long. “The building is an amazing gift that will make so much more good work possible. If we make our goal, we can finish construction and establish an endowment for the building maintenance and upkeep. And already we have commitments that total 60% of our goal. We need everyone’s support in the final stretch Barnabas’ ‘barn raising’.”
Stratford Owens, who has led the agency for six years, says the facility is key to the organization’s strategic growth. The Barnabas Networks currently rents space located at the former Montgomery Ward Battery and Tire Center at 2024 16th St. The new location is four minutes away from the current one, which will make the transition a simple one when they move later this year.
“Having this new single location, gives us stability and brand awareness,” says Stratford Owens. “Owning such a functional tangible asset will give us leverage to grow and flexibility to adapt to meet our needs in the future.”
Donations to A Home of Our Own can be made online at thebarnabasnetwork.org or by calling (336) 370-4002.
About The Barnabas Network
Founded in 2006, The Barnabas Network provides gently used home furnishings to families and individuals who are transitioning from homelessness, fleeing abuse, recovering from flood or fire, or resettling refugees. The number of families served has increased every year, and The Barnabas Network is on pace to serve 1,000 families in 2016. To make donations of furniture, please call (336) 370-4002."
- A Press Release
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