Compass for Kids is holding a ribbon cutting and open
house on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at noon to celebrate its new office space. Compass recently
purchased a building at 1201 S. Fourth St. after experiencing significant
growth and hiring several new staff members.
“We had outgrown what Central Baptist Church could
offer us; we’ve been renting office space on the third floor of their building
since 2016,” Compass executive director Molly Berendt previously told SBJ.
Compass for Kids was founded in 2011 as a ministry of Douglas United Methodist
Church and later operated under the umbrella of Family Service Center before
becoming its own 501©3 in 2016. “We have really been growing the past
seven-and-a-half years since we went independent,” said Berendt.
“We had initially been looking to lease, but
financially, it made sense to purchase a building instead,” she said. At 4,700
square feet, the former chiropractor’s office is significantly larger than
Compass’ previous office space. However, Berendt noted that the Fourth Street
location will serve as the group’s administrative headquarters, but all
programming will continue to be offered off-site.
“We will continue to
run all of our programs hosted by community partners at other locations,
such as the churches that host our after-school program, Club Compass, and our
summer camp hosted at various elementary schools,” Berendt said.
Compass has recently added three staff members to newly created positions
as part of the organization’s expansion. In September, the nonprofit hired a
coordinator for the new youth leadership development program, intended to
expand the organization’s outreach to middle and high school students, along
with a director of finance and administration. In November, Christy Freeman
Stark joined Compass for a marketing position that is jointly funded by
Kidzeum.
This article appears in November SBJ 2023.