‘The more we can help, the better’

Community Care announces changes coming up in April with relocations, rebranding efforts underway

By JESSICA BRICKER

A local organization is preparing for multiple big changes in the coming weeks.

Community Care of Wells County is rebranding and its thrift store and relief resource center are relocating in April, Director Christine Walker said this week.

With new logos, the organization will become Community Care of Northeast Indiana, opening the door to serve other counties in the area, Walker added.

The thrift store will move from its Marion Street location and the Connecting Center will move from its Johnson Street location, where they will be side-by-side at 117 and 119 S. Main St.

“We’re expanding our thrift store square footage while creating inviting new spaces for both our resource center (Connecting Center) and thrift store (Change Up),” the organization shared on social media. “We love the new place and we know you’re going to love it too.”

The new thrift store space will provide room to sort donations, increasing the amount of donations that can go out in the community and then come back in to the store.

“The store has just blossomed,” Walker said.

The new space will also allow room for a corporate office.

While the residential housing program for men was discontinued at this time and will be reexamined in the future, efforts continue at the other Community Care ministry for women — Grace and Mercy.

Renovations in the previously unusable space are ongoing with more bedrooms, bathrooms and activity rooms being added.

Walker said it’s pretty unusual to have children in a residential facility like Grace and Mercy. The program connects women to recovery efforts, child services and other resources in the community.

While they have tapped into many local resources, Walker said they haven’t connected to all of them yet.

The board — made up of President Janella Stronczek, Vice President Rachel Owen, Secretary Kurt Oliver, Treasurer Jerry Zeigler and members Father David Violi and Johanna Kwandrans — is undergoing strategic planning work.

The goal is to create a model to show the programming offered in Wells County can be duplicated and implemented elsewhere, Walker said. There have been talks with other counties about branching out services.

“Let’s take it somewhere else,” she said. “The more we can help, the better.”

Community Care is planning a golf outing fundraiser June 18 in Bluffton. More information will be announced.

jessica@news-banner.com