“What a difference a year makes.”
Lutheran Community Services Executive Director Kim Collum reflected on the organization’s many blessings Thursday, Sept. 21, during a grand opening celebration for the new facility that doubles its space for coming alongside members of the Logan County community.
It was exactly a year to the date that LCS first broke ground on the building at 820 W. Sandusky Ave., Bellefontaine, across from Harmon Field Park. The new site is just six blocks from its previous location at 230 Oakland Square, Collum noted.
LCS celebrated the $1.7 million facility that will meet community needs for nourishment, clothing, housing and perhaps most importantly — fellowship and friendship — among its walls.
Inside the new space, area residents can pick up a quick sack lunch mid-day, receive a hot meal in the evenings with good company and friendly kitchen staff and volunteers at Our Daily Bread, or enjoy shopping for some new outfits and other bargains at the thrift store.
“This space has been about 12 years in the making, and we couldn’t ask for anything more,” Collum said. “We needed a piece of land that was not in a neighborhood, zoned for business, but yet still close to the residents that we serve.
“In talking with folks out here, you’ll find out they come in for so many different reasons. Some might like to shop in our thrift store to save some money or find some terrific deals, and others who live alone enjoy coming by for a hot meal and good company each day. We’re all in this together.”
opening for the new center Thursday afternoon.
(EXAMINER PHOTO | MANDY LOEHR)
In addition to the LCS services on site, Bridges Community Action Partnership also is housed in the building to offer rent and utility assistance to those who financially qualify, along with other services.
“It seemed like a great fit to bring Bridges in with us,” Collum said. “We were asking, ‘How can we help the most?’ And when people come in for rent or utility assistance, then we can connect them with our other programs as well right here in one place.”
Our Daily Bread serves sack lunches from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday, a program that was started during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has stayed a popular service, with LCS serving as many as 170 lunches some days, Collum noted.
The evening meals are served from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, with the very first meal served Friday evening, Sept. 22. The kitchen staff are loving the expanded space and new capabilities, they noted during the open house celebration, where they catered a plentiful buffet of items and specialty cupcakes.
“We’ll be able to do plenty of cooking in there for sure, and our dishwasher is even up and running now,” cook Deb Storm said with a chuckle. “I couldn’t be more thrilled.”
In addition to the meals served at Our Daily Bread, LCS also has a food pantry available on a once a month basis to provide enough food for an entire household, now in a better set up, staff member Evelyn Titus noted.
“It’s now all on one floor, instead of down in our basement at our previous facility. And now people can shop for the grocery items they would like and it even includes milk, eggs and meat.”
Collum said to participate in the food pantry, individuals just need to have a referral from an area agency or church and take a photo ID.
In addition, LCS is currently taking applications for its Christmas basket program, which includes food for a special Christmas meal and toys for families with children. In recent years, the organization typically receives about 600 applications, which this year are due Friday, Nov. 11.
The $1.7 million facility is approximately 80 percent funded already, Collum noted, through a number of major corporate donors, private donations, and funds from Logan County, the city of Bellefontaine and the State of Ohio.
“It’s been a true community effort, from the citizens of Logan County on up to the state of Ohio helping us make this beautiful new space possible.”
To find out more about LCS and its services, visit https://www.becomebettertogether.org/. Donation information about the capital campaign is also available on the website.
