“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
TODAY IS THE DAY!
I have been promising some really “good news” for months and today I am officially announcing on behalf of “Friends of Copey” our plans to begin the long process of helping the Copey community build a new Learning Center.
The idea to help the Learning Center’s physical conditions and help improve the overall learning environment and resources has been on our hearts for more than a year. We have witnessed the enthusiasm and energy among the staff working with very limited resources and we have seen some amazing results.
We can only wonder what success there would be at the Learning Center if we could only improve some part of the educational experience. Lately, the possibility for helping with these improvements has become much brighter as several encouraging events have come about. And, I am a very strong believer in the words above belonging to Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.. It is simply a matter of faith to consider such a possibility and again, a matter of faith to take such a bold step.
For the record, “Friends of Copey” by definition is “Faith in Action!” So my message to all… let’s begin by believing this is doable.
We start with Stage 1 of the process. This involves accumulating the information such as the accessibility and cost of utilities, property ownership issues, building design and purpose, and much more so we can develop a cost estimate for the project.
We anticipate this collection of information and cost determination will take at least 60 days to complete. Based on the cost estimate, then we will need to determine if we have a realistic chance to raise the money needed to get approval to build. If we conclude we have a realistic chance to raise the funds needed, then we move on to Stage 2 and get busy with fund-raising. If not, we return to the cost estimate and see if we can reduce cost to make it work. Dale Carnegie is quoted as saying … “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.” 
So, one big step at a time. We can celebrate the fact that we are even thinking this big. We have a pretty good chance for success. Our major focus for funding sources will be aimed at corporate donors and various foundations.
I will continue to provide more details of our progress as the weeks go by. Your prayers and strong positive thinking will be needed to meet this challenge. You know how we work…“we believe it… then we see it!”
Today’s special announcement will be followed later in the week with a final wrap up on our Goal Performance for 2016. Starting next week, we will officially begin the Anne G. Broady Scholarship Fund Drive and the Executive Director’s Salary Support Fund Drive.
Happy New Year to All!