H15 Ministries celebrates a monumental achievement and prepares for a fundraiser
Volunteers Michael Beachy and Tristan Yoder work on adding a new, fresh coat of paint to the ceiling on the north end of the H15 Ministries facility. As the grand opening continues to grow closer, H15 will celebrate with the community during a fundraiser meal at Farmstead Restaurant on April 24.
From ceiling to floor, the H15 Ministries building has sprung to life as colors continue to embolden the facility. Where once was drab colors is now a bright, inviting area that will soon be a wonderful safe haven for area youth.
The start of something special is right around the corner as H15 Ministries continues to inch closer toward opening day of its youth outreach efforts in the heart of Historic Downtown Millersburg.
In order to continue its move toward its grand opening later this year, H15 will conduct a fundraiser at Farmstead Restaurant in Berlin on Tuesday, April 24 from 4-8 p.m. Throughout the evening H15 members will serve as waiters, waitresses and table clearers, and all tips along with 15 percent of the meal and bakery sales will go to benefit H15. Volunteers are still needed.
“We are really excited to start a new tradition, even though most of us serving won’t have a clue as to what we are doing,” H15 director Andy Schafer said. “What we are really excited about is the opportunity to serve people their meals, and more importantly we can update them as to what is going on and where we’re at in the process as well as share our vision as to what we want the ministry to be.”
Schafer said in addition to the meal and lively banter, they will have a slide show rolling throughout the evening showing the progress of the H15 facility as it has gone from a dusty collection of junk to the colorful, lively place it is today.
Perhaps one of the biggest milestones for the ministry came during the wee hours on April 3.
“At 2 o’clock in the morning, our grant writer, after many, many, many hours of work over the past year, was able to click the submit button for our final application for the big grant we have been hoping to get,” Schafer said. “This grant is for a little over $400,000 and will go a long way in helping us get where we want to be.”
Should it be secured, the grant would go toward the purchase of the buildings, replacing two roofs, repairing all of the loose and broken brick work on the outside of all three buildings, the storefront windows and doors in all three buildings, all the rest of the exterior doors and windows, building the courtyard, installation of a new 600-amp electric service, and upgrading the heating and cooling system.
“That would be a game-changer,” Schafer said. “Our grant writer started working on this more than one year ago and has invested more than 100 hours into it. Having that submitted is a real blessing.”
Schafer said early on in the process that he had all of these hopes and dreams as to when the facility would officially open its doors to the youth in the community. He has since realized that doing so only added to his angst. That doesn’t mean the ministry portion of what they hope to accomplish isn’t already under way.
“Just because the doors haven’t officially opened doesn’t mean we aren’t already starting to touch the lives of the community,” Schafer said.
As volunteers continue to help aid in the proceedings, Schafer said the facility has lost that drab look it had for so long. A new hardwood floor and colorful artwork and painting along with the initial effort to recoat the ceiling have brought the H15 Ministries facility to life.
“Every step we take makes it more inviting,” Schafer said. “Every time another wall gets painted it is like we have invited the sunshine in. It makes it so much more bright and cheery. It feels really great to cover up some of these dingy areas.”
Aside from the gallons and gallons of paint being put on the walls, the facility’s ceilings got textured and painted as well as light fixtures on the metal ceiling.
“As I look around, it is really hard to imagine the dark, dirty building we started with so long ago,” Schafer said, adding that it has only happened through the incredible number of volunteers who have given their hearts and souls to helping make the dream a reality.
“We have really been enjoying having lots of people coming for our work days now,” Schafer said. “What a blessing it has been to see so many people eager to see things getting done. We also had the pleasure of having the youth group from Millersburg Christian out to help, and we got a lot of cleaning, organizing and painting done that day with their help as well as some others who came.”
With all the painting that has been going on, Schafer said they have quickly used up a lot of the supplies that Wooster Brush donated last year. However, with one email to Wooster Brush, they generously replenished the painting stock to allow volunteers to move ahead without missing a beat.
If any individuals or groups would like to volunteer to lend a hand at H15 Ministries, the tentative schedule for volunteer dates and times for April are Mondays, April 9 and 23 from 5-8 p.m.; Thursdays, April 19 and May 3 from 5-8 p.m.; and Saturdays, April 14 and 28 from 9 a.m. to noon.
As for special areas of need, they have just about finished with all of the plumbing, except the two toilets and sinks, both of which are handicap-accessible, along with the valves, faucets and other parts needed to install them. The cost for finishing those tasks is $975 if anyone would like to help cover some or all of the cost for that project.
With work quickly taking place and with the end of renovations in sight for part one, the big push now is getting a volunteer crew in place for when H15 is open.
“We are really excited to start interviewing people and getting the crew ready,” Schafer said.
If anyone would like to volunteer their time and gifts to the ministry, they can begin the process by filling out a volunteer form and sending it in. The link to the application is at
www.h15ministries.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/H15VolunteerApplication.pdf.
Schafer can be called at 330-231-7147.