Fundraiser to benefit The Center

When you're climbing a steep hill, it often helps to have people in the back providing an extra push.

And in the Family Resource Center's fight for survival, that extra push is coming from all angles.
On Saturday and Sunday, DEPCO LLC, of Pittsburg, will sponsor a fundraiser for The Center at the former Envision building at 1600 Walnut St. -- the building that is close to being the future site for the FRC.

The fundraiser will take place in the form of a toy sale and auction. Both DEPCO and Constructive Play Things, of Kansas City, have donated items to be sold at the event. Proceeds from the event will go toward The Center's building fund.

"The city of Pittsburg cannot afford to lose the Family Resource Center as a child care resource," Dave Holloman, DEPCO president, said. "It's way too important to the kids and the families of this community."

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Parents of children who attend The Center have volunteered to work the fundraiser. State Representative Bob Grant and his wife Lynn will be on-site cooking barbecue for those who attend.

Monica Murnan, The Center's executive director, said the items sold at the event will be reasonably priced and suitable for children 9 years old and younger.

Murnan said she is excited for this weekend's event, as not only could it raise a decent amount of money for the FRC, but it also gives the community a look at The Center's possible new site.
"This will be a good way for us to have a fundraiser, but it also will get people in the new site so we can show them what we're trying to get done," Murnan said.

Earlier this year, Murnan announced that The Center would cease to exist if it could not relocate out of the former Lincoln Elementary School building, its site since 1997. The poor condition of the building and the cost to maintain it has made it nearly impossible to continue to operate without moving, she said.

The Center received a major boost this fall when the Bicknell Family Trust donated the former Envision building. Murnan said on Tuesday that The Center has officially taken ownership of the building, but the challenge to raise the necessary funds to complete a transition remains. In October, Murnan said The Center was about $800,000 short of its goal, and at the time, she wasn't completely convinced that the goal would ever be reached.

Since then, however, Murnan said many local individuals and organizations have "stepped up" and donated to The Center. That includes two major donations, although Murnan said she could not yet release details of those donations. What she could say is that things are looking better than they were a few months ago.

"We still need money," she said. "We're not where we need to be yet. But I do feel that things are starting to come together and fall into place. I am more confident now than I have been. But we certainly still need help."

On Monday, The Center also will receive a friendly boost from Chili's Grill and Bar in Pittsburg when it hosts Family Resource Center Day. From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 8, each time a customer presents the FRC Day coupon, Chili's will donate 10 percent of that sale to The Center. The FRC Day coupons are available for printing on USD 250's Web site, www.usd250.k12.ks.us.