{"id":13218,"date":"2024-08-08T16:54:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T16:54:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=13218"},"modified":"2024-08-08T16:54:17","modified_gmt":"2024-08-08T16:54:17","slug":"ywca-announces-t-hat-the-funding-for-its-renovation-is-complete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/08\/ywca-announces-t-hat-the-funding-for-its-renovation-is-complete\/","title":{"rendered":"YWCA Announces T hat the Funding for Its Renovation Is Complete"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Lisa McDuffie (at podium) explains the YWCA fundrasing processs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Fletcher Word<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe Truth Editor<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On Friday, August 2, the leadership of the YWCA of Northwest Ohio held a press conference to announce that two government funding awards for the renovation of the agency\u2019s building on Jefferson Avenue had been obtained to close a gap in the amount of financing necessary to complete the renovation.<\/p>\n

The YWCA will be expanding its services which include housing for people experiencing sexual and domestic violence along with education and counseling guidance.<\/p>\n

As Lisa McDuffie, CEO of the YWCA of Northwest Ohio, explained, the process began three years ago when the board determined that the Y would need to raise $17.3 million in order to renovate the 70-year old building, to increase residential living quarters, to introduce air conditioning and improve the heating in the main building and to redo space that had fallen into disuse almost 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe developed a leadership \u2026 and they started asking the community to join us,\u201d said McDuffie of the fundraising effort. That fundraising effort raised $13.5 million, she said, before they \u201cset out to approach elected officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elected officials came through on both the state and federal level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m overjoyed,\u201d said McDuffie, applauding the government response. \u201cWe have brought in five and a half million dollars. We are one million over our fundraising goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Housing and Urban Development donated $3 million to the renovation project and the state of Ohio kicked in $2.5 million.<\/p>\n

As pleased as the board is with that success and the overage, the extra funds may well prove to be necessary to the renovation effort.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Brent Gray explains the construction project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cYou never know what the economy is going to do,\u201d noted McDuffie. In addition, considering the age and size of the building that was constructed in 1954, the current renovations may bring challenges during the rebuilding process that could increase costs tremendously.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so wonderful to have the support of elected officials,\u201d she added, thanking in particular state Senator Paula Hicks Hudson along with state Representatives Elgin Rogers and Michele Grim, all of whom were present for the press conference, and U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur and U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, who sent a representative, Erika Krause, from his northwest Ohio office.<\/p>\n

Through a statement read by Krause, Brown said that \u201cevery Ohioan should feel safe at home and in the workplace \u2026 this is a critical investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Grim spoke of her own excitement about the fact that the state had been able to contribute a significant amount to the project. Grim\u2019s background includes 10 years of experience in rape counseling so she is fully aware of the mission of the YWCA and what it means to women to have access to such facilities during crises.<\/p>\n

Rep. Rogers praised \u201cthe vision and leadership\u201d of McDuffie and her team and Hicks Hudson noted she was \u201cso grateful for the tenacity of the board,\u201d which kept working on its fundraising project for three years to reach its goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project is not just for this county, it\u2019s not just for the city of Toledo,\u201d said Hicks Hudson. \u201cIt\u2019s a safe haven for women throughout northwest Ohio. The government does best when it\u2019s on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Filling in the swimming pool<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Phase one of the construction process has already begun. A construction crew has started the most expensive part of the overall construction aspect that will replace mechanicals, will drill deep under the facility to shore up the new parts of the basement along with the first and second floors. The goal is to add new administration offices, double the number of resident rooms (currently at 17) and add indoor play space for children.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot more room for victims and for administration space,\u201d said Brent Gray, senior project manager with Program Solutions, during a brief tour of the construction site.<\/p>\n

The pool area, locker rooms and the gym facilities, which were closed in 2005, are being completely remade in order the add the new facilities. Ultimately the renovation will also increase the Y\u2019s Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter capacity.<\/p>\n

Phase One is expected to be completed in 2025 and then Phase Two, completion of the administrative offices, residential spaces and common areas will begin.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fletcher Word The Truth Editor On Friday, August 2, the leadership of the YWCA of Northwest Ohio held a press conference to announce that two government funding awards for the renovation of the agency\u2019s building on Jefferson Avenue had been obtained to close a gap in the amount of financing necessary to complete the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,17],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[242],"class_list":["post-13218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headline","category-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13222,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13218\/revisions\/13222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13218"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=13218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}