Woolwich Community Services staff, town officials and real estate developers gathered at 5 Memorial St. in Elmira on Tuesday for the groundbreaking ceremony for the organization’s future home.
“This new site will allow for the agency to continue to have the ability to expand to new levels of support to all members of the community for years to come,” WCS director Don Harloff said.
Construction began earlier this year, following an extensive fundraising campaign.
“In 2013 we embarked on a $1-million fundraising campaign to build a new resource centre” the WCS said in a statement.
While the original funding goal was reached, the group is still looking for ways to reach the $1.5 million cost of the project.
The WCS was “started in 1974 around a kitchen table,” Harloff recalled, beginning in the township offices before settling into its current location at 73 Arthur St. S.
But it was time for a larger space to “improve and expand service to the residents of Woolwich Township and northern Wellesley,” Harloff said.
WCS runs the Woolwich food bank, the family violence prevention program, a youth centre, the Christmas Goodwill Program and a thrift shop, among a host of other social service offerings.
The new location will be shared with an affordable housing project developed by MennoHomes.
