Chapin's We Care Center Expanding

We Care Center, Chapin’s Interfaith Outreach, has entered into a lease agreement with St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church for its former Thrift Shop building, which is located across the parking lot from We Care’s current facility. 

By renovating the old Thrift Shop, We Care will double its capacity, providing more space for food storage, food pantry operations and additional interview offices and meeting space.

The expansion will enable the center to better serve its clients who come from the Chapin, Peak, Prosperity, Pomaria, White Rock and Little Mountain communities to receive food and emergency assistance, We Care Board President Janet Marshall said.

“Last spring we began talking with representatives from St. Francis about what plans existed for the old Thrift Shop building once the church took occupancy of its new 8,000-square-foot store across Courtland Road," Marshall said. "After looking at several options, it was apparent that leasing the old Thrift Shop was the best opportunity for We Care to gain the extra space we needed and be able to keep all of our operations under one roof.”

Due to the ebb and flow of food collections, We Care has had to store surplus food in multiple locations throughout Chapin, requiring additional work for food pantry volunteers to keep track of multiple inventories, not to mention the extra transportation and handling of food required by offsite storage. 

The new building will not only provide 750 square feet of additional pantry storage, but also allow for We Care to install a walk-in cooler and freezer to store perishable food items it receives regularly from the local Bi-Lo and Food Lion grocery stores.

“St. Francis has had a strong relationship with We Care for many years,” added Rev. Dr. Mark Scott. “In addition to being one of the founding church partners, St. Francis leased property to We Care to build its original facility in 1986. Our church is well known for its commitment to community outreach, and being able to help We Care expand its mission and provide a worthwhile reuse for this building made perfect sense for all parties involved.”

A number of volunteers from other churches have come forward to help with the renovations of the building, including a large building ministry from Chapin United Methodist Church. 

“We anticipate that we should be able to cover most of the labor for this project with volunteers and are pursuing a number of grant opportunities to secure the funding needed to upfit the building for We Care operations,” Marshall said. 

Some repairs to the roof and removal of old carpeting have already taken place and work will continue into the fall. 

“The good news is that the renovations will not hamper our operations, and we will continue to serve our clients as the work across the parking lot takes place,” Marshall said.

The existing We Care building will be used for educational classes and job training among other services.  Space will also be available for other outreach groups to meet and serve their customers.

We Care Center is a Christian organization providing food and warmth for those in need in the greater Chapin community. We envision a community where clients are provided emergency help, are empowered to become self-sufficient, and integrated into the social fabric of our community.

Submitted by Chapin We Care.