Bath County Christian Social Service Center will soon have a new home. Construction has begun on a facility to replace the one destroyed in a fire more than a year ago. Officials said a $100,000 donation from St. Claire HealthCare means the project is now fully funded.
Marcelle Doggett is Executive Director of Bath County Christian Social Service Center. She said construction has a projected end date of November 15.
“My personal hope is that it’ll be done by December, but if it’s not, we’ll keep going. Like, last year we didn’t have a building to use for our Christmas program - that I think we serve a hundred or more families – and so the People’s Bank, they opened up their board room,” said Doggett.
Doggett said the community has been very accommodating in allowing the organization to use their spaces so they can continue serving the county. She said with the donation from St. Claire, they’ll be able to serve not only the people of Bath County but others as well.
“Doing good in one spot bleeds light onto another and so it kind of makes everybody shine. I do so appreciate what they’ve done for us. If they hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be where we’re at right now. We have hope. They have given us hope. They have instilled hope in our whole board and this community,” said Doggett.
The new facility will be a replica of the one they had previously. It will be 4,500 square feet, two stories with a similar layout, and built in the same location. Doggett said the new building will be more energy efficient, with better insulation, heating, and cooling. Prior to the loss of their facility last year, the organization served nearly 7,000 people annually.
