CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – A New River Valley nonprofit will soon turn the keys to open the doors to its new center in Christiansburg.
10 News took a sneak peek inside the new Agape Center NRV, where they plan to clothe, feed and teach skills to families in need.
Rather than working out of the back of three different churches, the nonprofit has a new place to call home.
“We don’t have to run from town to town to town to serve people,” Agape Center NRV President of Advisory Committee Joe Davidson said. “Everything here is on one campus.”
Last year, the nonprofit helped more than 1,000 people through the food and clothing pantry. The center also served more than 300 children through the Christmas program.
Before coronavirus relief funds were available, the organization served twice as many families.
“Serving that many people without a permanent face in the community just tells me there is a huge untapped need still,” Agape Center NRV Director Kim Bowman said.
After a two-year hunt, the team found the old Montgomery County Public Schools Facilities Department to be its new hub.
“It’s easy access for the buses and also from the interstate system,” Bowman said. “The location is perfect out of all the places we looked. And we probably looked at 14 to 15 different facilities.”
With more than 27,000 square feet, the plan is to set up a boutique for people to take what they need, provide furniture and teach financial literacy classes.
The campus is five and a half acres wide so there is a possibility of expanding even further in the future.
“It’s everything we need to be able to open our doors and start serving right away,” Davidson said.
The public can expect to step inside the new center by the end of the summer.