Take The Next Step gets big holiday offering

Take The Next Step fell short of its funding goals by the end of 2015, and demand for its various service programs continues to grow. That made Cascade Church's Christmas Eve offering to the Monroe nonprofit even more exceptional.

"Their donation is definitely a huge gift,GÇ¥ said Kara Dineen for TTNS. "We definitely fell quite short from what we were hoping for for this year.GÇ¥

Cascade Church makes two offerings annually; one on Christmas Eve and another for Easter, said Todd Arrambide, outreach pastor. For Christmas Eve 2014 the church raised enough funds for the Sky Valley Food Bank to buy a new van. The congregation sent $40,000 to Rwanda for Easter last year, which was used for missionary training and providing clean water to those in need.

"We've been supporting (TTNS) for a while, but we just thought on Christmas it would be great to bring an offering in front of Cascade and that 100 percent would go to them,GÇ¥ Arrambide said. "Our goal was to raise $19,000 for them, that's what we were hoping for and asking for, and the congregation just came through with $25,600, and that was just so cool for us.GÇ¥

TTNS uses Cascade Church for its monthly Growing Together Teen Moms' Group meetings, and the church has been a consistent donor to the nonprofit for years, Dineen said.

While TTNS knew it would be receiving an offering, the amount was not revealed before the event.

"We had no idea what it was going to be, so yeah, it was definitely a very gracious surprise,GÇ¥ Dineen said. "It is a huge, generous gift that we were appreciative of from the whole congregation.GÇ¥

Around 50 percent of the clients served by TTNS are homeless, Dineen said, this month's figure at 56 percent. There were more than 5,000 visits to its drop-in center last year from people seeking human services. There are 60 children in the Kidz Club and more on a waitlist. Growing Together has also been expanding.

"There's a lot of need still to be met,GÇ¥ Dineen said, but Cascade Church's gift will go a long way in supporting TTNS and its services.

TTNS also has been renovating its facility ' made available at no cost by the Monroe Covenant Church ' since early last year.

First floor carpeting and installation labor was donated, and TTNS has an offer to do the same with the second floor at the drop-in center at 202 S. Sams St. Along with updating one bathroom, TTNS also added an ADA-accessible facility. Expanding office space was another goal.

"We were able to kind of move office spaces around and just kind of reconfigure our location and update things and make it more comfortable for our guests and be able to use the space better,GÇ¥ Dineen said.

Two pastors had meetings with Mac Taylor, who serves on the TTNS board of directors, after hearing about the nonprofit's remodeling project, Arrambide said.

"We thought, "Man, that's probably the right one for us,' so we talked about it with the team and the team all agreed that'd be the right one to bless,GÇ¥ he said.

Cascade has a stewardship team of pastors that is always looking at addressing community needs, Arrambide said.

Church leaders walked through the facility and made a video to show the congregation. The fundraising process was only held in December, which made the support received even more incredible, Arrambide said. He added about 30 percent of the $25,600 donation came from people not in the congregation who just wanted to help.

While a sizable portion of Cascade Church's donation will go toward TTNS's remodeling project, Dineen said a majority of the funds will be used to support the nonprofit's programs.

TTNS is still seeking funds for the renovations, including a kitchen remodel. The countertops are more than 50 years old and cupboards need to be replaced, she said, adding there is also hope to add a miniature dishwasher. The nonprofit also has permits in to the city to cover the porch to create an entryway.

"I don't believe we have the funds for all of that and a lot of it will probably have to be bought or paid for,GÇ¥ she said. "It is still early, so we're always hopeful.GÇ¥

Find out more about Take the Next Step at TTNS.org. To see photos of the remodel at TTNS, check out this story online at monroemonitor.com.