SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (November 7, 2017) — The Kitchen, Inc. has met its $4 million dollar initial construction goal for the new O’Reilly Family campus.
The non-profit launched its capital campaign in 2015 in order to raise the funds to build a new emergency shelter and support services building located at the northeast corner of Chestnut Expressway and Glenstone. The Kitchen began construction on the new shelter in June of this year. The decision to build came after close evaluation of the current buildings on The Kitchen’s Commercial Street campus. It was quickly realized that is was not cost effective to renovate the crumbling decades old buildings including the old Missouri Hotel. The price tag to rehabilitate that one building alone was upwards of $9 million.
The initial construction goal was met after The Kitchen qualified for a $600,000 grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation. Even with that initial goal met, The Kitchen will continue to raise money for the Sam and June Hamra Family Support Services building. Since the launch of the capital campaign, overall costs have increased. To help meet those additional costs, The Kitchen will continue to sell commemorative bricks through the holiday season.
The Kitchen is extremely grateful for the generous support of individuals and businesses in our community who have donated or pledged donations to this endeavor. However, due to the increase in support for the capital campaign, donations to the organization’s general fund have decreased dramatically. Throughout 2017, The Kitchen has been losing $30,000 a month! The lost revenue has forced the organization to eliminate staff positions. The Kitchen is asking for the community’s help in making up this shortfall before any cuts have to be made to housing programs.
In 2016, The Kitchen provided housing for 662 people including 111 families with children. Overall, 43 percent of those served were under the age of 18. In addition to the housing programs, The Kitchen, Inc.’s Rare Breed Youth Outreach Center served 1,889 youth last year. It continues to serve 60-80 youth a night.