February 1, 2019

Mid-Iowa Community Action (MICA) recently began a renovation of its Poweshiek County Family Development Center at 611 Fourth Ave. in Grinnell. Some of the renovation is now complete, and the rest will be finished in May.

The center now includes the agency’s Head Start classroom. Future renovations will include creating a larger food pantry, a meeting space and offices for long-time partner Substance Abuse Treatment Unit of Central Iowa (SATUCI). This work will begin in February and end in May. The renovation is expected to benefit the families MICA currently serves and benefit the Grinnell and Poweshiek County area by improving facilities available for service delivery.

“We wanted to complete this renovation for two reasons,” said MICA Executive Director Arlene McAtee. “One: Grinnell has had a shortage of child care slots for many years, so moving our Head Start classroom from the Ahrens Family Center to our own facility would allow Ahrens to grow their early childhood programs and offer more slots to the community, which we had been discussing with Ahrens for the last couple of years. Two: Bringing our programs under one roof is the most efficient and effective way to provide our services and contributes  to better outcomes for children and families.”

The entire renovation project will cost approximately $270,000. As a result of the dedicated, effective work of a volunteer fundraising committee formed for this project, Chris and Judy Hunter, Tom and Emily Moore, Rev. Kirsten Klepfer and Janet Carl raised all the needed funds in just a few months.

“We were conservative in our planning and hoped the committee would raise about 30 percent of the project budget,” McAtee said. “We planned to take the effort public to raise the rest. However, we received grants from Great Western Bank and the Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation as well as generous gifts from First Presbyterian Church, Grinnell United Church of Christ Congregational, Grinnell United Methodist Church, St. John’s Lutheran Church and 27 individual and family donors that fully funded the project.”

MICA is planning an open house for the community in June. Due to the success of this effort, MICA and the fundraising committee are exploring the idea of a second phase of improvements, which could include improvements to parking and the building’s exterior.

“To our surprise, we reached our goal fairly quickly, though we certainly didn’t ask everyone who may have been willing to contribute,” said Chris Hunter, former MICA board member, current MICA volunteer, and Grinnell College professor. “However, as a MICA food pantry volunteer, I can attest to the fact that there are ongoing needs outside of the renovation.”

Community members who are interested in supporting MICA’s work in Grinnell and Poweshiek County are invited to donate food or funds to the pantry and center. Those seeking more information about the renovation project or how to support the agency’s work with low-income families can email info@micaonline.org or call 641-752-1762.