In less than a year’s time Southwick House has already hit the halfway mark of its $3.6 million fundraising goal to bring a new transitional housing facility to Emporia and Director Susan Brinkman could not be prouder.
It was announced Wednesday that Southwick had been named the recipient of an $800,000 Community Facilities Community Development Block Grant award through the Kansas Department of Commerce. Brinkman was informed of the award earlier this month by Kansas Senator Mike Argabright and tells KVOE News she couldn’t contain her excitement.
Brinkman’s excitement was partially because it put Southwick at 50 percent of its fundraising goal and the nearly year-long effort she and her staff put into securing the grant.
With the fundraising campaign now at 50 percent of goal, KVOE News asked Brinkman if she is confident they will still begin vertical construction on the new transitional facility by the end of the year as she had previously stated. Brinkman says she is hopeful, however, we do live in a “shifting world” so nothing is certain.
That said, Brinkman says the level of support for the campaign and the facility are high both locally and at the state and federal levels which gives her a great deal of confidence moving forward.
Southwick announced plans for the new transitional facility back in May of last year with the announcement of the capital fundraising campaign following shortly after. Southwick is building off of the foundation left by Plumb Place which closed its doors in 2020 after 100 years of serving the community.
Brinkman hopes this recent milestone will help make others “more comfortable with the foundation” of Southwick and entice more donations in the near future.
More information about Southwick House and its mission is online at southwickhouse.org.
