NONPROFIT TO HOST FUNDRAISER AT FARM SITE

Community Resource Center, a regional nonprofit social services organization that assists people in coastal North County, is halfway toward its goal of raising $10.5 million to overhaul its downtown Encinitas headquarters.

And, it hopes to have the rest of the money in hand by next summer, CEO John Van Cleef said Tuesday.

With that goal in mind, CRC will host a capital campaign kickoff/community celebration from 2-4 p.m. Sunday at Coastal Roots Farm. Music, snacks and crafts for kids are planned. To RSVP visit eventcreate.com/e/crccelebrate.

Founded in 1979, CRC provides a wide range of services, including counseling and legal advocacy assistance, food distribution and nutrition education, housing assistance and homelessness prevention programs, and a domestic violence emergency shelter. The organization serves more than 6,400 people a year from a very challenging workspace — a collection of 1940s-era structures that once housed retail shops and even a dentist’s office, Van Cleef said.

The site’s shortcomings were “really highlighted during COVID,” he added.

Among other things, there’s no indoor space for people waiting to use CRC’s food and nutrition center, so they line up on the sidewalk outside. There’s also no accessible bathrooms for clients; there’s no break room for employees; and the counseling sessions are held in a room upstairs next to the employee bathroom and there’s no soundproofing between the walls, he said.

CRC moved into its Second Street location in the mid-1980s. While the buildings have their challenges, the site is perfect as an outreach location because it’s accessible to clients using public transit, he said.

The organization has done some “little projects” over the years to improve parts of the structures, but the new campaign aims for a complete overhaul, Van Cleef said.

A complete overhaul is possible because CRC acquired expansion space — property next door — last year. The neighboring property is proposed to contain a new, 2,700-square-footCRC Food & Nutrition Center

In addition to new food distribution center, the fundraising campaign will pay for tearing out the interior walls of the existing CRC facility and making “it fit for what we’re using it for,” Van Cleef said.

Plans call for client restrooms, counseling therapy rooms, group meeting space and a much-desired staff break room with a sink and a refrigerator, he said.

The renovation plans will require a state coastal development permit and CRC has started assembling the necessary documents to get the permit, Van Cleef said. Once the fundraising concludes and building permits are in hand, CRC expects the construction work to take about a year.

Visit oneheart-crc.org for information on the fundraising campaign.