We did it, we finally did it!
June 3, 2009 – 7:35 pm
We completed the kitchen and building renovations, we passed all building and health inspections, and on May 18, 2009 we started serving three meals per day to our residents. As in most things we do we did this with the help and support of many. Thanks to Patrick and CADCOM for a $15,000 food grant to get us started; thanks to the North Penn United Way for awarding us FEMA dollars, thanks to Montgomery County Office of Housing and Community Development for Emergency Shelter Grant dollars; thanks to the Montgomery County Department of Health for gently and expertly guiding us through the inspection process; thanks to Odd Job Joe for our new sink and other handiwork, thanks to Jay and J&M Carpentry for assisting us with the many other related tasks that needed to be completed. We would be amiss if we failed to mention Resources for Human Development Central Office staff for all of their assistance and guidance through every phase of the renovation and completion of this project, so thanks to Jim, Chuck, Mike, David, David, and Lee for every thing from overseeing this project to your grant writing and budgeting help.
All of this hard work led us to a partnership with PhilAbundance whose mission is to drive hunger out of the community and with Chef Marc who plans and oversees the preparation of all of our meals. Thank you PhilAbundance for partnering with us.
A few months back we had several staff study for and pass their food service certification exams and on May 22 we had another staff person take and pass her exam. This one is pretty special for us because Donna was a former resident of the CHOC and she is now temporary staff working while another staff person is on maternity leave. Way to go Donna and thanks for giving back to the community. Donna’s smile and energy are contagious at the CHOC and her warmth and welcoming spirit is a nice addition to the shelter.
Other Updates
As if the above news is not good enough I am also happy to report that the bed bugs are gone. Now that was a job. Many thanks go out to Bing and Ertell from Royal Pest Control for helping us to evict the tiny pests. Since there is still a national bed bug epidemic we will have to be continually on guard and take precautions to avoid another infestation but we are free from their nuisance right now and we are happy. A big thank you also goes to Charles, our maintenance man, for all of his hard work and diligence at keeping them out. Charles is actually a new employee as well. He formerly worked for the cleaning company that we contracted with for maintenance and sanitation and just joined us full time since the above mentioned grants also included funding for janitorial and maintenance staff. Charles has always gone above and beyond the call of duty. In addition to his janitorial work he has painted and repaired walls and the other day he was found outside power washing our many many windows. He is one of many that helps make the CHOC brighter for all of us that work or live at the center. Thanks also go to Valley View Community Church for new towel and blanket donations that were used to get us through the extermination process and beyond.
We have a few more big jobs we would like to tackle like getting our roof replaced but that one is going to take some thought, planning and money.
If you would like to help in that way or any other way please let us know. As always, we are open to ideas.
Have a great summer!
CHOC before and after Video
Keywords: News
