New Wichita Children’s Home should be ready at year’s end

The Wichita Children’s Home is on track to finish its $12.5 million project to replace its current facility this December.

After 50 years at its previous location at 810 N. Holyoke, the home will move to a new 13.6-acre site at 37th Street North and Inwood, between Woodlawn and Rock. The Wichita Children’s Home is a shelter that provides services to homeless, abused and neglected children and young adults in the community.

Laura Kelly, director of community relations and volunteer services at the Children’s Home, said construction is expected to be completed at the end of this year, and children will transition to the new facility in January after the holidays.

“It’s going to be an exciting end of the year for us,” Kelly said Thursday. “It’s going to be tough to leave that building, but we need to do that for the children, and we need to serve the community the best we can.”

Kelly said the current facility has an institutionalized feel, but the new one will feel more like a home to the residents. The new location is also larger, allowing for additions including a multi-purpose room, a baseball diamond and a half-court gym.

“It’s a little bit difficult for today’s kids to feel comfortable in the current building,” Kelly said. “This is going to be a bright, airy, comfortable space. If you come to our current building, it’s cramped and our play spaces are cramped. Here we are able to spread out.”

Westar Energy presented the Children’s Home with a $50,000 corporate grant on Thursday for its “Make It Better” capital fundraising campaign. Jeff Beasley, vice president of customer care at Westar, said after touring the current facility that the company’s decision to make a contribution was unanimous.

“This home touches your heart in terms of what it does for the community,” Beasley said.

“There are children in need, and the mission of this organization is something that we can agree with wholeheartedly. There are so many new features in this building that they couldn’t do in the previous facility that are going to make a difference.”

One of the new features is the addition of a separate entrance where law enforcement officers can bring children who are entering the home.

“ I’m excited about the fact that we’re going to give our youth the respect and the regard by having their own private entrance into the building,” said Debbie Kennedy, CEO of the Children’s Home.

Kennedy said although construction progress is on track, fundraising for the capital campaign is not complete.

“Fundraising has been going very well, but we’ve got $1.8 million more to raise,” Kennedy said. “… Any gift, any amount is needed, and every dollar adds up.”

For more information about the “Make It Better” capital campaign, visit wch.org/make-it-better.

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 5:11 PM with the headline "New Wichita Children’s Home should be ready at year’s end."