My Brother’s Workshop will celebrate its new home at the old Plant Depot in Tutu Park Mall with a grand opening ceremony and ribbon cutting event that will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 4. The first lady will cut the ribbon and the organization will recognize the donors who support it.
My Brother’s Workshop moved into its new home near the end of July thanks to the help and support of John Foster and the Tutu Park Mall organization. Items such as a 40-foot container for storage and equipment and a woodworking workshop were donated by several groups including different Rotary clubs, both locally and internationally.
“It has been a labor of love to build out the blank space to suit the needs of our organization, which now includes an operational office, storage and conference space,” said Executive Director Christina Luton.
The new space gives young men ample room to accommodate the workshop as well as classroom space and yard space to focus on other projects such as furniture repair and welding. The next phase of the project is to build out classroom space so that the educational component of the program will have a space to function.
This is the first time the organization has had a permanent home. It has spent several years operating out of an extra space at the Reformed Church and met on the church steps each morning. Now the trainees can meet on site every morning at 8 a.m. to begin their workday.
Since the organization has opened its doors, it has had a steady stream of four to ten trainees per day working on contracted jobs or building out the new home.
“We are very excited to show the community how far we have come and how blessed we are to have their support to make this dream a reality,” Luton said.
She added that the organization is available for hire. They can complete small construction projects at home, office or hotel, or they can take on other woodworking projects such as furniture repair and making vegetable or flower planters.
Contact the organization for more information at 228-0573 or mybrothersworkshop@gmail.com. Also visit the Web site: www.mybrothersworkshop.org.
