WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsLoan Helps Local Non-Profit Open Homeless Shelter
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Chippewa Falls (WQOW) -- A big loan helps a local non-profit get its new shelter up and running.
Starting Points, Inc. in Chippewa Falls bought a house on Birch St. in 2007, and has been trying to raise the money to renovate it and open it as a shelter for the homeless. The community donated more than $170,000, but it wasn't enough to make some much-needed repairs such as adding sprinklers and a wheelchair ramp. That's when Forward Community Investments stepped in. The organization loaned $105,000 to Starting Points, Inc. to finish the renovations and open the shelter.
"There were a number of big capital campaigns happening already in Chippewa County, in addition to what's happening with the economy,'' says Starting Points, Inc. Director Mary Clay Santineau. "And there's so many non-profits in this community, I really felt and our board felt that it was a real time of saturation for fund-raising. This way, we can get it up, get it going, and then fundraise to get that repaid."
Starting Points, Inc. says now it will be able to open the shelter, known as the Harmony House, by the end of July.
