Fundraising for renovations at an ecumenical center

Cedar Rapids, Iowa – After decades of assisting local NGOs, the Ecumenical Community Center in Cedar Rapids is now requesting assistance from the community in order to collect money for renovations.

A portion of a wall outside the building collapsed due to strong winds in early August. The club is collecting funds to fix the wall as part of their yearly end-of-year fundraising.

The sidewalk along the building’s 6th Street frontage will be fenced off until the wall is fixed. One of the building’s handicapped-accessible entrances is blocked by that barrier.

One of the founders of the ECC, Scott Olson, stated, “We want to make sure that people feel safe and that nothing happens to them by movement of a brick when they walk along the sidewalk.”
In addition to the estimated $100,000 cost of repairs, Olson says they are attempting to preserve and repair some of the fallen bricks in remembrance of the building’s past.

In order to continue helping families in need without having to halt a program, Olson stated, “We’ve already gotten some donors and we’re working on others so that hopefully, by spring, we’ll have a good piece of that repair work covered.”

Other leaders have faith that the community will back them.

“We just hope that they want to continue helping us with the people that we serve and with our building,” said Robin Switzer Brunner, COO of the ECC. “People have given small and large amounts for a lot of years.”

Donations are being accepted through a PayPal link on the organization’s website: http://ecc-cr.net/donations.php.