Today's Construction Progress

Above, the dish room starts to take shape, and the kitchen equipment is falling into place.

It's starting to amaze me at how much they accomplish each day.

If you want to see a little video footage of the building, watch this short video we made last week: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOERXD5JMA0

We've got a full house

If there was any doubt that we have a full building, this morning made that point clear. All of our tables, floor space, and even desks had delivery bags piled on them. We're doing a little extra each day this week, to be sure all of the clients get meals before the holiday weekend. Happy Holidays! Safe travels to all of our drivers, and to everyone who's leaving town to visit friends or family.

Not Open Arms - Yet

I've been struggling with what I call the new property - building - etc. It's such a great space. Warm, welcoming, open, and so useable. But it won't be Open Arms until you're all there with us. I can't wait until we can call it Open Arms.

It's going to be a wonderful space for our Open Arms community, and we hope the Phillips community, too. I can already see how much better we'll be able to welcome/serve each other in this new space. It's so exciting. --- Kent

First Kitchen Equipment Arrives

The first pieces of kitchen equipment have arrived at the 2500 Bloomington site. It will take several weeks to get it all installed, but it's another step closer to having a facility that will allow us to continue to say 'YES' to those, living with illness in our community.

tile and grout

A few of us get to go into the new building pretty often, but it still is amazing how much progress they make each day! The quarry tile has been laid in the hot food prep area, and you can see it just starting to go down in the baking area. They are painting walls in the office area, and finishing up some of the work on the windows.

The more time that I spend in the space, the more it feels like the perfect spot for Open Arms' new home. It doesn't feel like a building, it feels like Open Arms. Warm, welcoming, and open. That was especially true when we celebrated the end of the Capital Campaign and World AIDS Day in the new space on 12/1/09. The energy from that night could have powered our kitchen for years!

Miracle on 25th Street: Open Arms Completes Capital Campaign

Open Arms has a great deal to be thankful for. We have secured $8.1 million and successfully completed our capital campaign. The success of our campaign will allow us to finish construction of our new facility at 25th Street and Bloomington Avenue and begin serving even more clients with chronic, progressive and potentially life-threatening illnesses.

Since announcing our campaign in May of 2007, we have had tremendous support from this community – from a $5 gift from the four-year-old daughter of a volunteer to a million dollar donation from longtime supporters. More than 1,200 individuals, foundations, corporations and faith communities have contributed to our campaign. This tremendous outpouring of support – in the midst of the Great Recession – means Open Arms will qualify for an $800,000 challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation and a $400,000 challenge grant from the Bush Foundation.

We are grateful for all the support we have received. To thank our friends and donors we are hosting an open house at our new site on Tuesday, December 1 – World AIDS Day – from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Please join us for champagne and tours of the building. For those of you who have been frustrated by the lack of parking at our current building, there are over 40 spots in our new parking lot.

It’s not too late to make a contribution to our campaign. Contributions received will be used to expand our program to serve more clients. Tiles, to be installed in our new kitchen and reception areas, are also still available.

To our donors, volunteers and friends – thank you for supporting the work of Open Arms for 23 years. And thank you very much for supporting our capital campaign. Together, we will continue to strive for the realization of our vision: A world of abundance where no one will have to go hungry.

A few more photos of the new construction

While it's busy in our 'old' building, the construction at the new facility is also really moving along. They are finishing the roof panels, getting down to the last few windows to install, and drywalling more and more of the interior. Next week they start laying some quarry tile, finish work on the elevator, and keep going on all of the other pieces. It's looking great.

And did you see that cars have room to park in the parking lot?! There will be lots more room than we've got currently...

Today at Open Arms

We're a busy place! Lots of volunteers delivering extra meals, others getting the turkey ready for tomorrow. And we've had many delivering whole, organic turkeys to clients who have the ability (and desire!) to make their own Thanksgiving Feast. We're grateful, and the parking lot is full...

Today's Construction Photos

We've got a roof that you can see! And the windows are going in on the vestibule and conference room that's on the second floor.

Plants and a Fence!

It's looking more and more like 'home' every day. We've got stripes on our parking lot, trees and shrubs around the edges, and a new fence!

They are also working on the roof today. It's moving at a great clip. Like everyone in the Open Arms committee, our building and construction team is wonderful to work with.

I hear that we're hovering really close to $200,000 left to raise! It's been a busy few weeks around here... not to mention our Thankgsiving plans for clients. We're bringing a truck into our current parking lot on Wednesday to give us a little more room to hold all of the turkeys!

A video tour of the construction!

Here's an amateur video of the Open Arms construction. It's fun to be able to see our future kitchen!

Thanks for all of your support... we're excited to share this work with you.

A Peek Inside!

There continues to be a lot of progress - we're trying to get the outside wrapped up before it gets too much colder, and also getting the windows and doors installed. Here are a few photos of the second floor, inside. Also, you'll see a view of the parking area taken from the roof!

The bakery area.

The parking area!

The conference room

It's a beautiful parking lot.

For those of you who visit our building on Franklin Avenue, you'll understand why we're so excited about the parking lot at the new building. (For some volunteers, I bet this will be your favorite part!) So here it is. We've got a parking lot! And room for a LOT of friends.

And for our biking friends, we'll have great spots to park & lock your bike.

Keeping Warm

We're getting ready to keep warm AND cold this week. The coolers continue to be installed, and the heating and cooling unit is being lifted onto the roof of the structure today. It's incredible to think of all of the details that go into a building.

A big thank you to all of our partners in the construction process, including Bremer Bank, Tegra, Watson-Forsberg Construction, KFI, DJR Architects, Gephardt Electrical, Ironwood and so many others who have helped us get this far!

Capturing Open Arms Through a Lens

This week's post is from Kurt Moses, who has been one of the many talented photographers to have documented Open Arms events, volunteers and clients over the years. You've seen his work throughout the pages of Scoop (our newsletter) and our Annual Report. He has been documenting the construction of our building as of late, including documenting our recent Tree Topping Ceremony last week (10/13). We asked him to blog about his experiences with Open Arms.

My photography says something about my vision of the world. I attempt to capture honest moments that tell a story. In order to capture such moments, I have to invest part of myself in each and every subject I photograph. I believe if you are genuinely invested in your subject, the image will convey the reality of the moment.

When I first started photographing events for Open Arms of MN ( http://www.kurtco.com/Siyaya21st ), I was preoccupied with the technical aspect of event photography. What type of light is available? Indoor or outdoor setting? What is the client looking for: group shots, candid? Who is who? and so on. Although technical details are important , ultimately photographing a moment that truly captures the essence of the subject, is the goal.

Recently, I have had the opportunity to document the construction of the new Open Arms building. Similar to photographing people, I had to find a way to capture the structure's personality. The shapes and the lines of this building are energetic and welcoming similar to the personalities that will be working there. I enjoy capturing the rawness of the construction and making it look intriguing. ( http://www.kurtco.com/OAConstructionNight. ) And most recently, I was able to capture the tree topping ceremony last week.

What I have observed through my camera these past few years, and what struck me the most are the people of Open Arms of MN. Their dedication, passion and tireless efforts to helping those in need are a great source of inspiration to me personally as well as professionally.

I believe I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to document a part of their history and growth through my pictures. -Kurt Moses

Brick by Brick

... and meal by meal. Thanks for all that you bring to Open Arms. We can't do it without you.

And we ARE making progress, and you ARE making a difference in the lives of those with illness in our community.