Phase 2 Remodel of Our Homeless Shelter: Your Support Needed!

Interfaith Community PADS needs your help as we embark on Phase 2 of remodeling our home at the Sacred Heart Church! We will share details in this blog post, but here are the main things you should know.

• The Healthcare Foundation of La Porte is offering us a challenge grant. If we can raise $25,000, they will match that amount. That’s why we need your help! Every donation gets us closer to securing the full grant amount.
• The money will be used for Phase 2 of the remodeling of our homeless shelter located on 8th street in Michigan City. We will focus on replacing windows and doors, and creating a fund for future repair needs.
• To donate, send a check to us at 1001 W. 8th St, Michigan City, IN 46360. The check should be made out to Interfaith Community PADS and should include Phase 2 Remodel in the memo.

For more details about this project and our past remodeling efforts, read on!

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For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. (Hebrews 3:4)

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Phase 1 Remodeling

In 2018, with help from the local Catholic Church, the diocese of Gary granted us the use of Sacred Heart Church. Soon after, we conducted a capital campaign to raise the funds necessary to rehabilitate the church and transform it into a permanent shelter for our homeless guests.

Key to the success of our campaign was a challenge grant from the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte. The foundation pledged grants of $100,000 and $37,500 if we raised a total of $118,750 in a one year time frame.

Challenge accepted! And thanks to the generosity of folks in our community, we matched the challenge within 5.5 months. The total cost of remodeling was over $425,000, which used every dollar raised in the campaign, plus some.

Phase 2 Remodeling

As much as we were able to accomplish during our Phase 1 remodel, we weren’t able to make all the changes we needed. Specifically, we knew we’d have to do something about the windows and doors of the church sometime in the near future.

At the end of the Phase 1 remodeling, the original stained glass windows were sold by the diocese and removed by a church from Wisconsin. What remains is not energy efficient and often does not keep the wind out.

We received a quote from the Tonn & Blank Foundation for $30,125 to replace the windows and front doors with thermal pane (which was far less than previous quotes). Under their “Community Project” proposal, we would be responsible for $25,000 of that cost.

To help us raise that money, the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte has challenged us again. If we can raise the $25,000 needed to replace the out-of-date windows and doors, the Foundation will give us $25,000 to begin building a reserve fund which will help us with future repair needs.

Meeting this challenge will not only reduce our annual utility costs over many years, it will also show the Foundation (and many others) that our mission – to show God’s love to those suffering from homelessness through compassion, understanding and dignity – is the mission of people of faith throughout La Porte County.

We Need Your Help!

And that’s why we need your help! 

Every dollar you contribute will help get us closer to our goal of $25,000 in order to secure the full amount of the matching grant from the Healthcare Foundation of La Porte.

To donate, send a check to us at 1001 W. 8th St, Michigan City, IN 46360. 

The check should be made out to Interfaith Community PADS and should include Phase 2 Remodel in the memo.

If you have any questions about the work completed in Phase 1, our budget, expenses, or volunteer opportunities, please call our executive director Harrison Holtcamp during daytime hours at 219-276-7582.

For updates on the fundraising and remodel, follow us on Facebook.

Thank you for your continued support of our work here at Interfaith Community PADS!