On Oct. 31, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate an 1,180-square-foot expansion at the agency for 11 new staff offices.
Photo provided by BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS
Big Brothers Big Sisters kick-starts expansion
SBJ Staff
Posted online
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ozarks raised $160,000 from donors to fund the construction of an 1,180-square-foot expansion of its agency building. Yesterday, board members, staff and donors celebrated the expansion at a groundbreaking ceremony.
The addition will provide space for 11 offices for the agency’s staff, volunteers, and interns, who are currently working in the building’s conference room. With the completion of the addition, Big Brothers Big Sisters will be able to use its conference room as a gathering place for committee meetings, training, and mentoring activities for adult volunteers and the children the organization serves, according to a news release.
Construction of the expansion is expected to be finished in March, with a grand reopening celebration planned for early May to recognize donors and community partners. Ireland Architects Inc., JE Dunn Construction Co., Toth and Associates Inc., Pond Creek Designs LLC, JAJ Construction LLC and Artisan Construction Services Inc. are among the companies donating services to the construction project.
“When our board of directors decided not to proceed with the building addition until it was fully funded, we knew it would be a challenge; however the community support that we have received has been amazing and we have truly witnessed how philanthropic of a community (we) have here in the Ozarks,” Big Brothers Big Sisters CEO Katie Davis said in the release.
During the last five years, the nonprofit has experienced an 85 percent growth in the number of matches between adult volunteers and children. According to the release, most children paired with mentors by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in low-income and single-parent families or households where a parent has been incarcerated. Last year, the organization helped match 1,300 volunteers with children in southwest Missouri.[[In-content Ad]]
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