By Nathan Millard, Program Manager, Community Disaster Risk Reduction
“We just installed the last piece of hardwood flooring!” they said as I walked into the hall. Sherry Wallmark, parish church administrator of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Chico, said the two-man team of certified contractors, from LaFontaine Construction and Wolfe Construction, completed the remodel within the allotted timeline—and amid excessive summer heat.
The remodel was made possible through grant funding from the American Red Cross Community Adaptation Program (CAP). Originally built in 1963, the facility within the Chico church campus will become an additional community center that is Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-certified with upgraded acoustics, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, as well as electrical and other safety features.
The Red Cross CAP is a new program aimed at building community resilience and empowering the community to mobilize during disaster. The Butte County CAP team has spent the last two years in the community identifying needs for community organizations to help build their capacity, capability, and continuity to operate during blue skies, but also to mobilize during response and recovery.
Most of this work has been about building relationships, healing, building trust, and listening.
St. John’s Episcopal Church is a member of the Butte Resilience Collaborative, which the CAP team helped establish with the goal of maximizing the impact of the group’s collective efforts. The Church’s location on Floral Avenue in Chico has become a hub of activity for the local community, especially during disasters and other emergencies.
The fully furnished facility will be ready for a fundraising event in a few months. To learn more about the Butte Resilience Collaborative, visit https://sites.google.com/view/butte-resilience/home. To learn more about St. John’s and its ministry in Chico, visit https://www.stjohnschico.org/
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