GOOD SHEPHERD Building to give center room to meet demand

Gifts, grants and a lot of donations helped the center pay for the $55,000 project.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- The demands placed on the Good Shepherd Center's food pantry have increased to the point that it has outgrown its space and will move to a new home.
"We've been challenged for space for many years," said Susan Franklin, the center's executive director.
The food pantry was one of the center's first operations when it opened in April 1991, serving only about 12 families a month at that time. Today, the pantry, which shares part of the first floor of the center's building at 144-146 Main St., serves 300 households a month, Franklin said.
The demand has grown steadily, she said, adding that only 27 percent of those being helped by the pantry 11 years ago were employed.
Today, the rate is 87 percent, she said, adding that those people may be working but are "underemployed."
Many of them work two or more low-income jobs, she added.
Space isn't the only concern.
Other concerns
There's the issue of parking as well as a lack of privacy for people who want to use the pantry.
The center has numerous other programs going on at its Main Street location, and people going to the pantry have to walk through some of those areas.
All of those concerns will be resolved when the pantry is moved to its new location about a block away at 35 N. Water Ave., Franklin said.
The building was purchased and will be renovated as an open warehouse at a cost of about $55,000, a major undertaking for an agency that runs on an annual budget of just $173,000.
The building has been purchased, and the renovations are being covered without Good Shepherd having to divert any operational funds to the project, Franklin said.
The 30-by-50-foot block structure was once a vehicle cleanup shop for the former Dart Chevrolet car dealership.
Franklin praised owners Don and Phyllis Dart for being patient with Good Shepherd while funds were secured to buy it.
Raising money
The center has 22 board-member church congregations, and each was asked to come up with $1,000 for the project.
All of them did, and several came up with even more, Franklin said.
A lot of services, such as an environmental assessment of the building, as well as some masonry and electrical work, are either being provided as a gift or at a significantly reduced cost, she said.
The Kavanaugh Foundation in Sharon provided a generous grant to the project, and state Rep. Rod Wilt of Greenville, R-17th, helped secure a state grant to complete the financing, she said.
"We will most likely complete renovations and break even," Franklin said, adding that the generous show of support has been very humbling.
"It's taken a lot of hard work and dedication of a lot of people,'" she said, adding, "That's what the Good Shepherd is all about."
The center received the title to the property several weeks ago, and workmen are already working on the remodeling.
No opening date has been set, but Franklin said the pantry will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday although food will really be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as necessary.
The only real eligibility for using the pantry is "to have a need," Franklin said. "We, as Christians, have to respond to that need as best we can."
There is no charge for any food items, Franklin said.
The space now being used for the pantry will be used for storage.
gwin@vindy.com