Sarah Grim joins Welcome Home as new CEO

Please join us in welcoming Sarah Grim as the new Chief Executive Office r of  Welcome Home! Grim will guide Welcome Home in its current capital campaign for a    new
facility at the Community for Veterans.
   

"I am excited to be part of the process that addresses the immediate and long-term needs of homeless Veterans, especially through the Welcome Home capital campaign, 

in our community," Grim said.

    

Grim previously worked at the Family Health Center in Columbia, which provides primary and preventative medical and dental services to the medically undeserved. She also has served as the chief executive of a number of Missouri-based nonprofit organizations, including the Missouri Coalition for Oral Health, the Missouri Patient Care Review Foundation and the Missouri Children's Trust Fund. She also led hospital trade associations in Ohio and Florida, where she developed a nationally-recognized expertise in rural hospitals and disaster preparedness.

    

She holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree of public health administration, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

 

New building progress continues

The Columbia Housing Authority Board approved the sale of the new facility property to Welcome Home, Inc. on March 17, 2015. Closing is anticipated no later than the end of March.

The new facility will be located at 2112 Business Loop 70 East, a 4.2 acre site that currently includes two motel buildings that will be completely renovated to serve Veterans.

     

For more information on the capital campaign, visit no1leftbehind.com
Team Rubicon helps prep new  building at Demo Days

Volunteers from Team Rubicon and the Mission Continues joined forces with community members and other volunteer organizations during a cold February weekend to help prepare the facility that will be the site of the new Welcome Home. 

Over just two days, more than 100 volunteers prepared the building for the next phase of construction by removing furnishings, floor coverings, plumbing fixtures, interior drywall and bathroom doors, ceilings and wall framing.

     

Coil Construction,  general contractor for the Welcome Home project, coordinated the Demo Days project. Breakfast and lunch for the volunteers was sponsored by the Missouri Honor Flight.

 

"To have fellow Veterans step up to lend a helping hand to other Veterans in need is a testament to the creed of every Veteran to leave no one behind," said Ross Bridges, board president of Welcome Home. "Their donation is one that will greatly reduce our financial burden in building a Community for Veterans where no Veteran is left behind."
Update from Capital Campaign Co-Chair

On behalf of the Welcome Home Capital Campaign Executive Committee, we are pleased to announce that more than 66 percent of the project funds have been raised toward our goal. This allows construction to begin shortly for the 25 apartments on the west side as 100 percent of the funds are in place for Patriot Place - Apartments for Veterans. This permanent housing component of the Community for Veterans was enabled by a $1,000,000 donation by Veterans United and grant awards of $500,000 each from the Federal Home Loan Bank and the Missouri Foundation for Health. Many thanks to the hard dedicated work of everyone and especially the staff and Board of Commissioners of the Columbia Housing Authority for their unwavering support. 


 We also cannot overlook the remarkable and key cooperation of the Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital for their staff,  who not only have been constant volunteers in every phase of this endeavor, but very important to the project's key long term success. This public-private partnership to make the Welcome Home project successful has been unparalleled in Mid-Missouri. 


 For the Welcome Home side of the project, we currently have raised almost $500,000 of the $3.5 million building campaign goal remaining for phase one, two and three. We are applying for multiple grants as well as state AHAP and NAP tax credits to match corporate and individual donations, and have received very positive responses that lead us to believe there is strong local and national support for this amazing project. 


 The Welcome Home Shelter and Supportive Services Center on the east side of the property will provide temporary housing, food and medical assessment facilities for Veterans. Currently Welcome Home turns away on average 156 male Veterans each year, and there is no dedicated place for an increasing number of female Veterans who are also being turned away. Completion of our project will help end both male and female Veteran homelessness in Mid-Missouri.  


 Without the additional facilities our Veterans have no place to go for shelter and support. We will not leave these men and women who served our country behind. They fought for our homes and now we must fight for theirs. We don't leave our wounded on the battlefield and we won't leave our Veterans on the street!


 If you have not done so, we hope you will visit www.no1leftbehind.com to make a donation, or email gsteinhoff@veteransunited.com and ask about pledging for state tax credits. We appreciate your help! 

 

Richard Mendenhall, Co-Chair, Welcome Home Capital Campaign Advisory Board