Over the last few months, we have accomplished so much to get Reese’s House ready! We were approved by the Millville Zoning Board to operate our intersectional, multi-faceted community center. We have also installed a brand new furnace (we have four in total) and two condensers for our walk-in refrigerator and freezer. We definitely needed heat downstairs in our building and Wildflower Vegan Cafe needed that unit for their operations.
As you know, this kind of progress usually comes with a price. We spent over $21,000 to replace the furnace and condensers. Between our engineer, attorney, and city fees for the Zoning Board Resolution, we spent a collective $8,127. Combine all of that with $10,000 that we had to spend on property taxes (even though we are tax-exempt, we had to pay the remaining balance of taxes for 2022), and it’s easy to see how quickly money goes in this kind of endeavor.
While these are giant steps for us, there is still more work to do in our new home. As part of our Zoning Board Resolution, we must have a professional survey of our building. Additionally, we still have to replace 4 (yes, I said 4!) HVAC compressors so that we have air conditioning once the weather starts to get warmer. We anticipate the survey and HVAC units to cost around $30,000.
Believe it or not, even after all of those expenses, we are still in pretty good shape! We receive a good chunk of our money from grants and foundation donations. While these funds are great, they primarily cover the operating expenses for Reese’s House. This leaves us searching for additional financial help to cover the big-ticket items that are needed in the building.
So how can you help?! First, if you have any professional references to help with the work in the building, grants, or anything else, let me know. Second, please consider becoming a monthly sponsor of our work. A small, reoccurring donation of $10-$20 goes a long way! All donations that we receive go directly to expenses for Reese’s House which means we can focus more of our grant funds on the bigger projects. This actually allows us to function more efficiently and plan for the future. Third, if you can’t commit to a monthly donation, one-time donations are always appreciated and welcome!
I know that times are tough for everyone right now, but can you please consider making the commitment to be a regular supporter of our community work? Your help goes farther than you can imagine and is appreciated and needed more than you know. We are more than ready to continue building on the recent success of our 4th Annual Holiday Toy Drive, 27th Annual Jolly Holly Run, and are excited about everything else that we have planned for our community!
To make a tax-exempt, charitable donation that will solely be used for Reese’s House, just click here.
As always, please feel free to reach out with any suggestions, ideas, questions, or concerns. As a community organization, we genuinely appreciate the input from our community! Take care and be well!