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!