Successful Completion of Capital Campaign brings ECM happiness and excitement!

From Teresa Zaffiro, ECM Development Coordinator

We are excited and immensely happy to announce that we have successfully completed our $832,000 Ministry of the Hearth Capital Campaign. We just recently received the check for our $119,000 capping grant from the Mabee Foundation in Tulsa, OK, which finished out our two year campaign.

We know that the success of this campaign is due to the generosity of a myriad of individuals, groups, congregations and foundations. Without their support, this successful campaign would not have been a reality. The success of the campaign can also be attributed to the many individuals associated with ECM that gave their time and energy to work on the campaign in one capacity or another.

Our campaign was coordinated by a Steering Committee that was co-led by John Wilson and Sara Dean, with consultation by Judy Keller, staff member at Jeffery Bryne and Associates, Inc.  In February, ECM hired me as part time development coordinator, and I provided assistance in the last few months of the campaign. Our campus Minister, Thad Holcombe, who will be very humble about this, has given countless hours and endless energy to this campaign. We also have an all-volunteer Board, led by Board President Bob Minor, who gave their time and support to the entirety of this campaign. Everyone at the ECM has been a part of this campaign in one way or another.

With the funds raised we are able to complete critical building improvement projects for this building that is on the Local, State and National Register of Historic Places. More importantly, however, we are able to better prepare the building for use by hundreds of new students and a variety of community and ministry programs this fall.

The ECM is a special place; it is an important place to many students and community members alike.  I am happy to know that the success of this campaign means that the ECM is able to continue to be a place where people gather around a hearth open to all - to discuss, learn and grow.

We are overjoyed to have completed this campaign that has been such a long process, and are grateful to everyone that has been a part of it! We look forward to a productive and happy fall full of old and new friends, renewed energy in programming, exploration of faith, critical dialogue and community building.

Check out our link to the article that the Lawrence Journal World wrote about us!