It’s been a couple of months. No pictures. No social media posts. No new heart-wrenching stories. Actually, there never were any heart-wrenching stories. No news. No updates. So, where have we been and what have we been doing?
After our initial start-up late last spring, with your help in making our two kick-off fundraisers amazing, we went right to work. We dove into the behind the scenes, write grants, talk to people, make connections kind of stuff. All necessary but not a social media, website kind of info. We did a couple of workshops in the community. First making scrap wood and metal signs with a student group. Then we partnered with Bridging the Gaps in Rochester to provide a birdhouse workshop for their summer programming. We also worked with a group from The Commons Church who showed up on a Sunday afternoon to take apart a trailer full of pallets for us. Click on the links to see pictures.
We also received our first grant from the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church!!! This grant provided funding to purchase equipment and office supplies and gave us the much-needed capital to start having workshops. There are consumable costs even when you are working with reclaimed lumber.
Then the backbreaking, sore muscle kind of stuff began to happen. More wood was donated and needed to be moved and stacked. Some outside, some inside. We received some donations of larger wood shop tools, like a drill press and a table router. All these items needed a home. We put a claim on a barn owned by our board president (with his permission), and we began the task of outfitting the space for workshop use. We are still in the midst of setting up that space.
Last but not least we went to the city of Rochester to ask for a permit to operate the space as a mentoring workshop. This space can be used by individuals who are coaching or mentoring someone. It provides a space to work side by side, to create something together and to build a bond. The permitting process is almost complete. When we are fully permitted, we will be posting it ALL OVER social media!
Where are we going?
All this preparation means that we will have a functioning workshop to work alongside folks in the community who need life skill coaching, job skills training, and mentoring. Connections are already being made, workshop dates are being finalized, and wood projects are being created as I write this post. Please keep your eyes open for our tool drive starting next week, for opportunities to use the workshop with the person you are coaching or mentoring, and for time to build something in the studio. Community workshops will also be shared. As always you can find us at wovencity.org, WovenCDA, and Woven City Restoration. “Life is a journey, not a destination.” Emerson
