As you may have heard through these newsletter articles, one of the priorities at FIRM is to remodel the Community Room. The Community Room is a hub of operations for the services we provide and we estimate that somewhere around 5,000 people are able to benefit from this part of our campus each year. That being said, it needs a facelift (to say the least!). We intend to paint, put in new flooring, install an air conditioner, install new carpeting on the stage, create a storage portion for the tables and chairs and much more.
We are happy to announce that this process will begin on January 26 through a partnership with San Joaquin Memorial High School (SJM), which is in walking distance from FIRM. As part of a day of service to the community, SJM will be sending many students and helping to provide the necessary materials to paint the community room! We are grateful for their partnership and it is even more exciting because our Executive Director graduated from SJM in 2001! Zack says, “It is so great to see my alma mater, San Joaquin Memorial, become engaged with the work we are doing at FIRM. I know firsthand that SJM strives to prepare their students both academically and spiritually as followers of Jesus. Serving the refugee community at FIRM will open their minds and hearts to the Lord’s calling to serve “the least of these”.”
FIRM has also received a commitment from the Iron Men men’s ministry at Fresno First Baptist Church to provide labor and resources for the remodel in 2015. We will continue to develop partnerships to see that this important work is completed this year. Please let us know if you would like to be part of this project! We could use materials, laborers, financial resources and/or your prayers as we begin this monumental task.