2021 has been a monumental year for those of us working on the building of Circle City Village. We have crossed some important milestones as we seek to build a community that will be a pathway to healing and sustainable living for friends experiencing homelessness. In March, we received zoning approval to redevelop a 1.65-acre lot on S Lynhurst Dr as the site of the first tiny house village in Indianapolis. We are currently working with a civil engineer on our stormwater management plan and will soon be working with an architect to submit our building designs to the city for building permits.
This progress brings us to the next major step in the process of building Circle City Village, preparing the site for the construction of the community building and 18 tiny houses. This will include tasks such as moving soil to ensure proper drainage, installing utility lines for each unit, and laying pavement and sidewalks. As I think about this phase of the project, I am reminded how important it is for each of us to have a good foundation in life. In the same way, a good structural foundation for our village will help us be a place where those transitioning out of homelessness can begin to lay a good foundation for a sustainable life in the future.
In preparing for this phase, we are launching a campaign called Foundation Layers Campaign. As news about our project has spread, we have had several churches and organizations approach us about ways they can be of assistance with this project. With the Foundation Layers Campaign, we hope to raise $200,000 of the funds we need for materials, supplies, and fees for site preparation. We hope to complete much of this work with the help of volunteer labor and pro-bono assistance, but there will be materials we need to purchase that may not come through in-kind donations.
We recently received a generous $30,000 grant from the H.G, Clay Foundation that will serve as the cornerstone for this campaign. We are looking for churches and organizations that would join this foundation in contributing to this campaign. There are three different ways a church or organization could invest in the lives that will be changed through the work of Circle City Village:
- As you plan your budget for 2022, consider designating a portion of your charitable activities budget to this project.
- If your organization does any type of drive or collection during the holiday season, consider designating that collection to Circle City Village this year.
- Organize a team that would help us with the labor for one portion of the project early next year. We would expect that each team would also contribute to the materials needed for their portion of the project.
Your support at this critical stage allows future Village residents to have the life-giving elements of water and warmth, vital to the foundations of creating a community!
If you would like a team member to present the vision of this project and the need to your organization, we will do our best to make a team member available or, at least, send a video that you can use as part of your announcement. All churches and organizations that participate in the Foundation Layers campaign will be acknowledged on the website and with a display on the property once the village is built.
