The mission is on to bring the Belleville Pregnancy and Family Care Centre into a new era and officials with the organization are appealing to local residents to help reach that milestone.
Liz Palmer, the Board Chair of The Belleville Pregnancy and Family Care Centre, announced the launch of the public phase of the $1.7 million New Home for Hope Capital Campaign.
Funds raised in the campaign are going to purchase 180 Front St. and renovate the building into the new location of the centre.
At this time, the campaign has raised $1,265,000.
“I am so grateful for all the donor support our project has received to date, including the lead gift from the John M. and Bernice Parrott Foundation,” Palmer stated.
“I also want to thank the 34 contractor firms in the region who have donated materials and in-kind labour to the project.”
The project was designed and is managed by the Belleville firm Bel-Con Design Builders Ltd. The day-to-day construction is overseen by volunteer Ken Wielemaker from Wielemaker Construction.
Additionally, Richard Gobeil and Greg Meeks are the main volunteers and serve as volunteer coordinators for all the other people supporting the project.
The centre is projected to open in early July.
Heather Tapp, the Executive Director of the Centre, stated, “People in our community are facing so many challenges today. When they are facing an unexpected pregnancy, all those things just seem to come to the surface and overwhelm them. And making decisions is difficult, so you need a place where people will care for you: empowering them so that they can thrive and move forward and have hope.”
“We are a Christian organization, and we believe that it’s God’s love that impacts their lives, and so when we see each person coming through our door, we want to honor them, respect them, value them, care for them… and be committed to that care, as long as that takes.”
After many years of surging demand, including a 30-per cent increase compared to two years ago, the board realized that after 15 years in their current location, it was time to move to a larger, permanent space. The new facility will include:
- two private support rooms
- a much larger space for distributing essentials like baby supplies,
- accessible, well-equipped facilities that include a large group room and kitchen.
A new feature of the building is a program space on the second floor, dedicated to helping fathers learn to care for their little ones. The second floor also has a large apartment that is rented out to help offset operating costs and could be converted into additional space for the Centre in the future.
For those interested in support this campaign, visit the website https://www.bpfcc.ca/donate#donation-form.
