VWW's New Home

2009-02-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

LAST CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS!

Thanks to the help of past program participants, staff and Board members and friends, we’ve saved nearly $10,000 in construction-related expenses!

If you’re handy with a brush, have a thing for color or ladders, or are just looking for something to do…join us for one of the painting parties below!

Primer is already on – we’re just applying the first and final coats of paint.

We’ll provide tools, food, and music to help us while away the hours.

DATES:
Monday, February 9th from 4:30 – 8:30 pm – to apply first coat to walls
Wednesday, February 11th from 4:30 – 8:30 pm – to apply first coat to walls
Sunday, February 15th from 10:00 – 3:00 pm – to apply second coat to walls

Please RSVP if you can attend!
tbluemle@vtworksforwomen.org

Giving Thanks

2008-12-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

I thought it high time to give a brief update on the building – where we are both in its construction and in fundraising. In early October, all foreign debris was cleared from the site, all oil tanks emptied of their ancient viscous contents and we finally began true construction. The site was stabilized, the foundation poured, and steel installed. The first and second floors are now nearly walled in. The project has benefited from a lot of help – from donors, from volunteers, and from regional incentives for efficiency upgrades that reduces the cost of gas and electricity as well as our carbon footprint. A crew of volunteers did the majority of demolition this summer – saving the project an estimated $8,000. We'll be using construction volunteers strategically over the course of the next couple of months – to reduce costs, certainly, but also to engage the women with whom we’ve worked in building our future. Finally, I’m happy to report that we’re at 80% of our capital campaign goal with just $100K to go!

PCB's and other HAZMAT issues

2008-08-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

So it seems the massive oil tank that was unearthed this week has tested positive for PCBs. So now things get really complicated because VWW doesn't own the property, the City of Winooski does, and so we are all collaborating on how to proceed. You see, our second story requires a certain amount of support to be viable and with all these mysterious findings under the earth it is looking as if we may need to come up with a new foundation design. We'll see...

A mysterious cavern beneath the earth

2008-08-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

Before the bank burned down on this site, there was a furniture store and it appears the oil tank belonged to them but it's still not clear how long it'll take to clean it all up. We are finding new things every day...today the construction crew discovered a deep cavernous space that extends to the adjoining office of the Community Center. We are working with the state to alleviate the problems and hope to resume actual construction soon. However this will delay our progress...

More Surprises!

2008-08-25T10:24:00.001-07:00

They found a 22’ oil tank 12 feet down in the ground. Construction has ceased while we wait for the state to sign off on paying for its excavation....stay tuned.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Beneath the surface lurks...a pier

2008-08-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Discoveries beneath the earth

2008-08-13T07:21:00.000-07:00

So...just an update. Asbestos abated. Now that we're digging, we have found the ruins of the old furniture building that burned down on the site years ago. Seems that when the building imploded, the demolition crew just filled the hole with the debris and covered it with dirt.
I am hopeful that we will discover buried treasure amidst the blackened brick and the foundation that extends at least ten feet below the surface....

VWW Builds a New Home

2008-08-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

On a hot Saturday in July, a hearty crew of VWW staff and program graduates from 1996-2008 wielded sledgehammers and shovels to begin construction of its new office and program space in Winooski. We certainly didn’t think about building when we learned last October that our lease in Essex Junction would end in April and we would need to find new space. But we did think our new home should root us in a community where we are needed and provide easy access by public transportation. We also wanted to be closer to colleagues with whom we could collaborate and who could refer clients. And we wanted to have enough space to accommodate growth over time – or be able to sublet if we needed to in leaner years.

After an exhaustive search of properties in Chittenden County, VWW’s Board voted this spring to locate its offices in the O’Brien Community Center in Winooski. Working with J.A. Morrissey Construction, VWW will renovate and expand a former bank office at one end of the Center.

The benefits of locating in Winooski are many:

Community Center rent is set below market rate at $9 per square foot. Because we will pay rent only on the original square footage as long as it takes to amortize construction costs, VWW will save $700,000 in general operating expenses over three decades.

For the first time in our history, VWW will be able to offer on-site classroom instruction and house a career resource center that supports women in researching and pursuing job searches.

The close proximity of nonprofits supporting children and youth, including the YMCA, Refugee Resettlement, the Winooski Family Center, and the Winooski Boys & Girls Club and Teen Center, increases the childcare options available to VWW trainees and our chances of engaging family members in other VWW programs.

Because we are renovating the space specifically for VWW use, we will incorporate energy-efficient and green-build features and recycled building materials, an up front investment that will significantly reduce energy and heating bills later, critical at this time of escalating fuel costs.

Perhaps most significantly, the building will be constructed in part by the hands of graduates of our programs through scheduled opportunities for community service and participation.
We expect to open our doors by Thanksgiving. Let us know if you can help in the months ahead–by painting, pulling wire, or by providing financial support–contact Kate Dodge at kdodge@vtworksforwomen.org.