With the help of 72 volunteers and numerous community partners, the Bandsaw Brothers service project benefitting the Grace Home is finally completed with its initial construction.
The new garage will be a woodworking and mentoring shop for veterans to engage and keep their hands as well as their minds busy.
Bill Chafin, the project manager, said the garage will also be a place where residents can build their family supplies before transitioning back into the community.
Edward Aguasanta, who is a Grace Home resident, said, “A collaboration between the veterans and the community and the Grace Home – I think it’s tremendously important for all of us to work together to help give a feeling of well self-worth back to the veterans and a sense of pride back to the community.”
Edward mentioned that a lot of veterans get depressed because they are no longer doing anything. The vocation center will give the chance back to these veterans to re-engage and feel a sense of purpose again.
A class dubbed ‘High School House’ was told at the beginning of the school year that on top of building a house, they would also be helping out with the building of a new garage for the Grace Home.
Out of the 72 volunteers, 22 of them were high school student from both Great Falls High School and C.M. Russell High School.
One student, Reno Pospisil, who is a Great Falls High School senior, said, “It’s pretty cool, you get to give back to your community, hopefully come by here someday when I’m older and say, ‘Hey, I built that.’”
He mentioned there was a variety of different weather patterns while building the garage, but ultimately they needed to complete the project “We’ve seen the 90 degrees, we’ve seen the 30 degrees, with rain and wind and cold, but we got to get it done,” Reno added.
Utilizing the new workspace, the Grace Home will work in cooperation with St. Vincent de Paul by refinishing and repurposing furniture and other items, which will then be given to the My Neighbor In Need Program.
Grace Home is at 2211 5th Avenue North; they are always grateful for donations such as tools, old furniture, and anything the vets can refurbish.
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(SEPTEMBER 7, 2018) After a few short weeks after breaking ground for a new garage project at the Grace Home and in partnership with the Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce-Leadership, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held to acknowledge that the project is a go.
The garage project, dubbed the “Bandsaw Brothers” project, will be a woodworking and mentoring shop for resident veterans as well as storage for community donations given.
Bill Chafin, the Project Manager of the Grace House Garage Project said the woodworking area will be where the residents could possibly be taught how to build cabinets or counter tops.
He said the garage will also be a place for the residents where they can build up their family supplies before transitioning back into the community.
Evacuation for the project began in mid-August and a foundation is being set, before the actual construction of the building follows this month.
Numerous companies have already stepped up to donate to the cause, but they are still short and are looking for more donations
Bill Chafin said, “Without the veterans we have no freedom. With that said, the more we can give to our homeless veterans and help them transition from homeless to self-sufficiency, that’s our goal.”
The garage project is expected to be completed in two months.
Grace Home is at 2211 5th Avenue North; they are always grateful for donations such as tools, old furniture, and anything the vets can refurbish.
