The Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon-cutting with Hope on Haven Hill to celebrate the completion of their Red Barn, a new space located at their Haven Hill location.
The Red Barn is a much-needed space that was conceived and built after the space in the main house was outgrown; the new space hosts yoga and other instructional classes for moms and their babies, and it also includes office space for counseling sessions and other administrative activities.
The ribbon-cutting event included guided tours of the new space, and the showing of a video featuring some of the moms’ stories and interviews with Kerry Norton, Executive Director and Co-Founder, who expressed her gratitude by saying, “I want to give my heartfelt thanks to those who made this possible. Thank you to the Hass and Vanderheiden families for their transformational support. Thank you to the Wentworth Douglas Foundation and providers, The Seacoast Women’s Giving Circle, and Mike Rouleau for making this dream of a project a real reality that has made all the difference in the way we are able to deliver care. Though this little red barn might be considered a small project, it has a mighty impact on our clients and their children.”
“I want to thank the City of Rochester for supporting our projects, clients, and mission for the last 5 years,” Norton continued. “It was now 6 years ago that we got our first variance and approval to open HHH and since then not only have we as an organization been supported by the city and community, but our clients have. That is one of the most wonderful side notes of Hope on Haven Hill. I have had the chance since opening almost 5 years ago to watch close to 300 women come in feeling like no one cares about them, and watch as they learned firsthand that the community, the city, the State does believe that they are important and support and cheer them on!”
Norton also announced that they have launched their Capital Campaign to build their new ‘Center for Hope and Wellness’ at their Charles Street property, where they will house all outpatient programs as well as life skill groups, a demonstration kitchen, childcare center, and more. They plan to expand housing opportunities with this capital campaign to ensure that the full continuum of health and wellness is available for their moms and babies. They are halfway there, having already raised $1.9 million. They have an anonymous donor who has pledged $500,000 in matching funds before the end of this year. They are also selling $500K in tax credits to NH businesses. This is the perfect opportunity for big and small businesses in NH to be a part of such an exciting project.
Present at the ribbon-cutting (in no particular order) were Kerry Norton, Hope on Haven Hill’s Executive Director and Co-Founder, Board members Susan Daigle, Joe Hannon and Kathleen Routhier, program graduates Christina, Emma and Michelle along with their babies, Hope on Haven Hill staff, Rochester Mayor Elaine Lauterborn, Rochester City Manager Blaine Cox, Rochester City Councilor Palana Hunt-Hawkins, Rochester Chamber Board Chairman Alan Johnson of Atlantic Broadband, and Chamber board member David Richard of D.F Richard Energy.