SAXTONS RIVER — Residents who wants to be part of shaping the vision and prioritizing the programs for the new Saxtons River Community Building are invited to come to the dining room at Christ's Church on Thursday, Oct. 15.
The meeting will be facilitated by Susan McMahon of the Windham Regional Commission. Dessert and coffee is at 6:30 p.m., and the meeting is from 7 to 8:30 pm. For more information, email susanstill7@gmail.com.
The Saxtons River Community Building aims to combine energy gathered from months of meetings about local human needs with the transformation of a familiar landmark, Christ's Church.
The result will be a center to house programs and services. Set to open in 2016, it looks like “community building” will describe both a place and a purpose in Saxtons River.
The Community Building will be a new nonprofit governed by a board of directors who will be responsible for both the facility and the activities that take place there. This will provide support for a variety of programs that could include services for seniors, intergenerational potlucks, and activities for parents, youth, and children.
Planning for this project began in the spring, when a group of about 35 Saxtons River community members met to discuss the possibility of forming a Saxtons River Cares group for older adults in the village. It became apparent that village seniors had many unmet needs, including transportation, housing, food, health/medical, and connection/enrichment.
This echoed the SWOT (strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats) analysis facilitated by staff from the Windham Regional Commission in Community Revitalization meetings in the fall of 2014. The working group to form a Saxtons River Cares met throughout this summer, conducting a community-wide needs assessment and networking with other Cares groups.
Simultaneously, the board of Christ's Church in Saxtons River decided to move ahead on giving away its building, the maintenance of which was becoming unsustainable. They asked some community members to explore forming a new nonprofit that would own the building and turn it into a community center.
The exploratory group spent the summer researching and networking, and recruited a board of directors and other volunteers. They proposed calling the new entity, the Saxtons River Community Building, reflecting the common space of the facility and the intention to strengthen social ties.
In September, the two projects considered merging. In a recent meeting of Saxtons River Cares, Berta Martin, coordinator of the group, said she asked them, “Shall we work together as Saxtons River Community Building?” She reports that the answer was a resounding yes.