A volunteer-led initiative that has brought all walks of life together to create a community is looking for a new home.
A volunteer program that brings all walks of life together is looking for a new home.
ComeTogetherCK, which organized the May 16 Miracle food drive and The Gift annual Christmas food/gift drive, established the CTCK Community Workshop in a vacant section of the Downtown Chatham Center a few years ago.
Wednesday was the workshop’s last day in the DCC and organizers are looking for a new location to not just continue, but grow.
Executive director Brent Wilken said CTCK would like to find a temporary location to continue its core operations, including painting and woodworking, as it focuses on finding a permanent location.
No matter how long it takes to find another location, Wilken said, “The purpose doesn’t stop, that’s community coming together.”
Gerald Robert, who has been coming to the workshop for about 18 months, said it is nice to teach people skills they can use for the rest of their lives.
“The biggest thing though is when someone succeeds in building something. The overwhelming confidence in most of the people leaving here is amazing,” he said. “That gives me smiles. It is different kind of rich.
“Just working with one another is a good feeling.”
Lisa Northcott started coming to the workshop a few months ago to run a beach glass art class.
She says Come Together CK can still do events without a building, but added having a place for volunteers to come together as a community is important.
“A lot of the events and things held here give us all a purpose,” the retired hospital executive said. “No matter what gift we bring or what we have to offer, we can come together and feel we’ve accomplished something.”
CTCK is looking for about 20,000-square-feet of space to accommodate administrative offices, program spaces and storage. The wish list includes parking, compliance with accessibility and safety standards, proximity transit and other community resources and flexibility to expand.
Wilken said the volunteer organization is “extremely grateful to the owners of the Downtown Chatham Centre.”
He said the Community Work Shop came about from the mall owners providing a space as a distribution site for the Gift 2021 campaign.
“Had they not supported our vision and the work we do, the Community Shop may not exist today,” Wilken said. “We thank them for believing in us and giving us space to dream big.”
He said the non-profit could fundraise and seek grants to pay for a space.
Wilken said the goal is to find a new location that can accommodate outdoor gardens and a commercial kitchen.
“If there’s the right partner out there, to me that’s the ideal situation,” he said.
Those interested can contact Wilken at 519-784-2800 or [email protected].
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