Beacon of Hope seeks assistance from Madison as lease is set to expire - Citizen Times

MARSHALL - A captious assemblage assets is calling connected Madison County to supply assistance aft the nonprofit organization's members person been told they volition request to find a caller location.

The Beacon of Hope Services in Marshall is a nonprofit enactment offering nutrient and exigency fiscal assistance to debased income families and individuals successful Madison County. 

According to Beacon of Hope Executive Director Jessi Koontz, the enactment has been informed that its lease volition not beryllium renewed.

In turn, residents and Beacon unit are asking the region for fiscal assistance arsenic the enactment searches for a caller location.

"We are asking everyone successful our community, not conscionable the commissioners, to assistance Beacon find a caller space," Koontz said. "We could besides truly usage fiscal support, from some the region and section residents."

At the Madison County Board of Commissioners' Oct. 11 meeting, 5 residents, including Jan Caldwell, emphasized the important relation Beacon of Hope plays successful aiming to trim nutrient insecurity successful the county.

"There was 1 woman who started Beacon successful the room of her trailer, and it has present grown to beryllium the largest humanitarian alleviation enactment successful Madison County," Caldwell said, adding that Beacon is presently the 3rd largest distributor of organizations partnering with MANNA FoodBank. "Beacon provides nutrient assistance to astir 1,000 families successful Madison County each month, and they grip and administer 37 pounds of nutrient monthly," Caldwell said.

The enactment was founded successful 1997. It presently hosts nutrient distributions 3 days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, from noon to 4 p.m.

The Beacon of Hope Thrift Store has reopened and is present unfastened weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

"As commissioners, you person been elected to service arsenic some stewards of this county, and those who telephone Madison home, which is wherefore Beacon comes to you contiguous not lone to stock our story, but to inquire for your assistance," Koontz said. "We find ourselves successful request of a everlastingly home, a abstraction wherever we tin proceed to grow, to thrive, to enactment down roots, to grow our services and absorption our efforts connected amended serving our community, alternatively than wondering erstwhile we volition adjacent person to relocate."

In a Nov. 5, 2021, article, Koontz told The News-Record the enactment experienced a important uptick successful clients during the worst parts of the pandemic. 

"Our monthly lawsuit basal grew from 687 families served successful February 2020 to 1,200 by April 2020, an summation of 75%," she said. "A inheritance successful exigency nutrient assistance helped Beacon instrumentality the required no-contact, catastrophe alleviation model, though the sheer measurement of nutrient required to conscionable the needs of our assemblage was mind-blowing."

According to its website, Beacon of Hope distributed 479,130 pounds of food, providing 10,323 assistance packages to those successful request successful our community.

In November 2021, Koontz announced the enactment returned to operating its lawsuit prime model, which offers families the opportunities to take the items they would similar to see successful their nutrient packages, based connected their idiosyncratic dietary restrictions, household demographics and/or taste preferences, according to the enforcement director. 

"This empowers the clients to marque their ain nutrient choices, alternatively of receiving a prepacked box," Caldwell said. "Beacon tailors its assistance to correspond to clients' feedback, and arsenic a result, Beacon present serves 57% much clients than it did conscionable 2 years ago. For families receiving nutrient from the Beacon, it could mean the quality successful paying the electrical measure oregon putting state successful their car."

Input from residents, staff

Lori Lawrence has lived successful Madison County for astir 18 months aft moving from the West Coast. Lawrence said Beacon is not conscionable a nutrient bank, but the "hub of the community."

"Beacon of Hope is not conscionable a nutrient bank. It is simply a spot of hope," Lawrence said. "It is simply a spot wherever individuals travel and they really bent retired connected their tailgate and speech to each other. We utilized to person restaurants and small state stores to communicate, but those places are disappearing successful our state these days."

Lawrence said she is arrogant to beryllium a unpaid astatine the organization.

"I consciousness its representational of what existent giving is - watching 1 car that mightiness person a Confederate emblem connected it, and the adjacent car has 'Black Lives Matter' connected it, and the 2 radical are moving crossed the aisle to assistance 1 another," Lawrence said. "For me, that's made a immense quality successful my life, like, 'Wow. This is simply a assemblage that wants to help, it wants to participate.'"

Kerry Gaydos said she's utilized Beacon arsenic a assets aft she and her hubby had "hit stone bottom" owed to her requiring 3 surgeries passim 18 months, and her hubby tearing his bicep tendon.

"We were forced to merchantability astir of our precious livestock due to the fact that we weren't physically capable to attraction for them. We were wholly babelike connected the assistance of friends and family," Gaydos said. "For the archetypal clip successful our lives, we had nary nutrient successful the house, and we had deed stone bottom. The precise archetypal time I visited Beacon of Hope, my mother-in-law took me. I walked into Beacon petrified. The receptionist asked me, 'Do you privation a nutrient box, oregon would you similar to store for your food?' I didn't person an reply to that question due to the fact that I hadn't been to a market store to store successful implicit 18 months.

"When I saw Beacon had caller nutrient and bread, I was filled with a bid that cannot beryllium explained. Overwhelmed doesn't adjacent screen the emotions that I was feeling erstwhile I started crying. I was met with love, dignity and respect. My shopper gave maine a loving hug and calmly said to me, 'Everyone needs a small assistance sometimes, and that's wherefore I'm here.' That angel's sanction is Karen. She had nary thought however overmuch she changed my beingness that day. I was astatine stone bottom, and the Beacon of Hope wholly lived up to their name. They reinstalled the religion that I was struggling to keep. For this I volition beryllium everlastingly grateful, and truthful volition galore different people."

Bob Clifford has volunteered astatine Beacon for 2 years, and has served arsenic the committee seat since March.

"I ne'er realized that bringing a container of nutrient retired to a car besides progressive proceeding people's aesculapian conditions, their treatments, their lives, and besides including 'God bless,' oregon 'Have a blessed day' astatine the extremity of it," Clifford said.

Clifford said contempt the nonprofit organization's detonation successful lawsuit basal arsenic a effect of COVID, the team's unit size has remained the same, operating with 1 full-time and 4 part-time employees.

According to Clifford, Beacon of Hope was precocious awarded a $150,000 assistance from WNC Bridge Foundation for "capacity gathering activities," which volition see the hiring of a part-time money improvement professional. The assistance volition besides assistance to screen the outgo of a refrigerated truck.

"Now, ironically, arsenic we find ourselves successful a comparatively bully place, we besides find that we whitethorn beryllium astatine immoderate hazard of having nary spot to telephone 'home,'" Clifford said.

Finding a caller location

Beacon's enforcement manager said the organization's unit was asking for assistance successful its clip of need.

"We cognize determination is determination successful Marshall - an bare building, an bare spot - sitting vacant waiting to beryllium revitalized arsenic a assemblage hub," Koontz said. "Once we person a viable site, we person options. Beacon raised $56,000 successful our autumn money thrust past year, reflecting the enactment that Beacon has successful our community."

The enactment presently rents from Calvary Worship Center and operates astatine 160 Calvary Drive, located crossed from Ingles connected the bypass successful Marshall. The lease expires March 31, Koontz said.

According to Koontz, Beacon acquired a tract of onshore connected N.C. 213 successful Mars Hill anterior to her coming connected arsenic enforcement manager successful July 2017.

The enactment is selling this property, arsenic the mentation required to marque the onshore suitable for gathering would outgo much than $700,000.

"The spot connected 213 was purchased with the intent to physique a caller installation for Beacon," Koontz said. "But that doesn't marque fiscal consciousness because, fig one, we don't person entree to the property. It's got h2o connected 2 sides, and past it has the neighbor's property's connected the different sides, truthful we don't person access. The archetypal happening we'd request to bash is physique a two-lane span for radical to spell successful and retired of the property. So, 5 years ago, the estimation for that was $180,000. So, multiply it by 2 oregon 3, probably, present with inflation, and the outgo of supplies. That's conscionable for the span to access. Then, due to the fact that that spot sits 5 oregon 6 feet beneath the road, we would person to person each of that graded, which is different minimum $500,000. That's conscionable to prep the onshore earlier we could build. So, arsenic a board, we decided that didn't marque fiscal consciousness to put that overmuch wealth conscionable to hole the onshore to build."

The proceeds from the merchantability volition beryllium invested into Beacon's caller facility, she said.

"In summation for you each to articulation our effort successful locating Beacon's aboriginal home, we would similar to inquire for fiscal enactment for our county," Koontz said.

"What we're looking for is simply a portion of onshore that's already level that we tin enactment thing on," Koontz told The News-Record. "We don't privation thing fancy. All we request is an bare warehouse, really. We tin capable it. But it needs to beryllium thing wherever determination is parking, wherever it's level - due to the fact that we service a fig of aged clients, arsenic 27% of our clientele are elderly. We besides service radical who are connected disablement and who conflict to navigate adjacent our parking batch now, which is flat. So, accessibility, parking, and thing adjacent to wherever we are present (are our criteria), due to the fact that we service folks successful Spring Creek, Spillcorn, each the mode backmost towards Wolf Laurel, and everyplace successful between. Plus, present we've got radical coming from Weaverville and North Buncombe. So, we're truly trying to enactment adjacent to home."

Koontz acknowledged that spot values successful Madison and the surrounding areas are skyrocketing and uncovering the "ideal" spot would beryllium challenging.

"Madison County is afloat of bare warehouses, truthful we're prepared to modify operations to suit what options we mightiness have," Koontz said.

While the enforcement manager said the spot hunt is "tricky" and "complicated close now," she said she felt confidently that the organization's enactment strategy passim the region would payment her squad successful the end.

"Beacon is simply a captious assets successful this community, and we person a immense basal of enactment successful this community," she said. "So, we're talking with anyone and everyone, sharing our story, due to the fact that we cognize you conscionable person to find that close person. There's got to beryllium something. I cognize determination is. It's conscionable having the close speech that leads you to that close idiosyncratic that has the answers.

"I cognize it volition each travel unneurotic successful the extremity due to the fact that it has to," Koontz said. "Madison cannot spend to suffer Beacon. We've been present 25 years, truthful we program connected being present for astatine slightest different 25."