Today we wrap up our first of three weeks of Camp 1:27 for elementary age campers. We had a great week and cannot wait to serve our next group of campers who will arrive on Sunday. Continue to be in prayer for our camp staff, chapel speakers, special guests, and, most importantly, our campers. Pray specifically that the Lord will continue to work and draw children to Himself.
One of our special focuses at Raleigh’s Place is teenage and young adults who are in or recently exited foster care. This population is largely underserved and has been for a long time. We are working closely with Chilton County DHR to make sure our foster youth are being equipped to succeed as adults. A special aspect of our Workmanship Initiative program is that of transitional living apartments. These apartments will serve young adults who have aged out of foster care. Our desire is to see these young adults prepared to enter the workforce and life with the skills necessary for independence.
We thought our apartments would already be opened by this point but we severely underestimated the amount of time it would take. Part of that process involved going through the city of Clanton to get approval on everything. We have been successful in those efforts but we have not been successful in securing a licensed general contractor, which is necessary for us to finish our apartments. If you know of a licensed general contractor who would be a good fit for us, please contact Mike King at (205)217-0418.
A benefit of our renovations being hindered is that we have been able to save some funds for this project. We have been blessed by so many of you for contributing to this project. Our efforts in grant writing have also seen great success! We had hoped to spend no more than $100,000 on this project so that is what we raised. But as you know by now, things are not as cheap as they used to be. Some unexpected expenses have also popped up along the way.
One of our biggest expenses for this project is in the fire sprinkler system. Fortunately, our facility has an existed sprinkler system inside the building but it does not have the necessary components to deliver the water. We are looking at roughly $80,000 of work just to get the sprinkler system finished up and to code. We have the money to go ahead and knock this out but it doesn’t leave much in the bank to finish up our other work. Therefore, we need to raise another $30,000.
Remaining work in the apartments includes plumbing, sheet rocking, painting, flooring, electrical, and replacing windows. Once we can secure a general contractor, it will not take long to finish up our apartments. We are committed to this project because it meets a tremendous need. It is also an incredible opportunity for us to continue in our mission to Live the Gospel by Loving the Fatherless.
Please join us in praying for God’s providence as we move forward with this project. If you feel compelled to give financially, please send a check to Raleigh’s Place with “Workmanship Initiative” on the memo. Checks can be sent to 346 County Road 1028 Clanton, AL 35046.