New Heights Christian Community Development Association in Benton Heights has received a major boost thanks to the Women’s Service League in St. Joseph.
New Heights CCDA Director Chris Britton tells us the league held its Charity Ball on Friday at Union + Social in downtown St. Joe to raise funds for the organization, and supporters came out in a big way.
“It was quite a shock,” Britton said. “The Women’s Service League’s charity ball raised a record-setting $42,750, which benefited New Heights.”
Britton says the funds will support regular New Heights programs.
“New Heights will use this funding to support our work addressing chronic food insecurity, transportation issues, and also our community development work in Benton Heights. So it’s going to provide a stable source of food for people through our community food network and people join that for two years. It’s going to help us continue to provide significantly subsidized repairs and donated vehicles to people in need who need transportation for the purposes of gaining and maintaining employment. It’ll support things like the laundry hub as well, where we’re using that space to bring much-needed community services to the neighborhood of Benton Heights.”
Britton says the backing of the Women’s Service League highlights the impact New Heights has been having in the community.
“The impact is really staggering. Actually in preparation for the event, I was given some time to speak and it was remarkable. I actually figured out that in the lifetime of the New Heights Auto Ministry, we’ve had an economic impact of over $7 million.”
Funds were raised via Charity Ball ticket sales, auction proceeds, and a balloon pop held as part of the celebration. Women’s Service League Chair Amanda Craig says the evening demonstrated the community’s commitment to supporting neighbors in need.
Britton noted things are getting busy for New Heights this year as it just resumed its community dinners, with another planned for the first Tuesday in April.
Also, we noted Britton just won the annual Rising Star Award from the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber, something he says is a result of everything his New Heights team and community partners have been able to accomplish.
