MCC to host fundraiser banquet for new building project
Sara and Isaac Obri prove one is never too young to lend a helping hand when it comes to serving others around the globe. The care package kits created by Mennonite Central Committee reach millions, and the upcoming fundraising event in Winesburg on April 12 will help raise funds to build a new facility in Kidron.
A bold, new building project for Ohio Mennonite Central Committee Great Lakes is on the horizon, and an upcoming banquet in Holmes County will present an opportunity for the public to make an impact.
A new resource building near MCC Connections in Kidron is planned for construction beginning in the spring, with the hope that it will only enhance the organization’s ability to reach people around the world.
For more than two decades, supporters have given material resources to the Great Lakes Material Resource Center Kidron Office at MCC Connections to support the work of Mennonite Central Committee.
These material resources have allowed staff and volunteers at MCC to put their faith into action, with many relief kits and comforters providing relief and a tangible sign of hope to people in need around the world.
“These kits and knotting comforters and the people who volunteer to create them are a hands-on way for people of all ages to get involved with giving back to and blessing others,” said Sarah Doerksen, material resource coordinator for MCC Great Lakes. “With so many conflicts and disasters occurring around the world, the need for material resources and requests are increasing, and in turn there is a growing need to create a central facility that will allow us to better create opportunities to do so because the current shared space with MCC Connections is limiting our capacity to help meet those needs.”
Thus, the push to create a new 11,000-square-foot facility is underway, and the organization is again turning to those who recognize the work being done by MCC to make it happen.
According to Doerksen, the plan is to build a new material resource building that will allow MCC Great Lakes to better respond to the needs by increasing efficiency, increasing volume and increasing engagement in the community.
“The building will allow our community to increase the number of kits and comforters we currently collect,” Doerksen said. “It will enable us to process all six of MCC’s kits, along with comforters. The new building will also increase opportunities for youth groups, families, Sunday school classes, companies, school groups and others to take part in hands-on service.”
The building plans include a work room, warehouse, administrative space and loading dock. Energy conservation measures and a solar panel array will save thousands of dollars over the life of the building.
“We have been very blessed to be able to utilize the building here in Kidron behind MCC Connections, but we are outgrowing the space, and the new facility will allow us to be so much more,” Doerksen said. “This will provide us with dedicated work space so we can access things more readily and host events that will be very beneficial to what we hope to provide through our activities that benefit people all around the world. Because the more we can process, the more we can send.”
Doerksen said she is excited about the possibilities the new facility will bring, and it will be exciting to see how God’s people impact the growth of the fundraising part of the process.
Kidron continues to be a hub for Ohio MCC Great Lakes, a role the Kidron area has played for many decades. When the MCC Connections Thrift Shop was built in 2001, it was supposed to serve as both the material resource center and the thrift shop.
However, the thrift shop grew so fast so quickly that it forced the material resource part of the organization to the building behind the thrift shop.
“It feels like Kidron is the ideal place to continue to create space for us,” Doerksen said. “It has such a rich history, not only with MCC, but with the Mennonite people, and the thrift store is so well known that this new addition to the campus should be exciting to see.”
Following MCC’s preferred practices, the new building will not be owned directly by MCC but rather by Ohio MCC Activity Center. MCC Connections Thrift Shop also is owned by OMAC.
In order to generate funds toward the building process, there will be a public fundraising banquet that will take place Friday, April 12 at Heritage Community Center, 3558 U.S. Route 62, between Winesburg and Berlin. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with dinner beginning at 6:15 p.m.
The evening’s meal will consist of barbecue pork, grilled chicken, potluck potatoes, green beans, salad, pie and ice cream. Entertainment for the evening will be the bluegrass and gospel group NewSound, along with sharing from MCC individuals about the impact MCC is making around the globe. There also will be a 50/50 raffle to help raise funds for the new building.
MCC is inviting businesses to sponsor a table for eight for $1,100. Checks may be made out to Ohio MCC Activity Center with “MR Banquet Sponsorship” in the memo line. Checks may be mailed to MCC Connections at P.O. Box 19, Kidron, OH 44636.
If individuals or groups are unable to attend the banquet, they also can donate by visiting the organization’s website at www.mccconnections.com, where there is an easy way to donate, either on a one-time basis or on a monthly plan.