Saturday, March 27, 2016

Some of you may remember the #SledgehammerChallenge from December 2014.  PRTR, in conjunction with ACOPP – Assisting Children Of Prison Parents planned to convert a neglected property into a learning center to teach entrepreneurial skills to kids and teens with incarcerated mothers or fathers.  Sadly, over the winter, our project site was burned to the ground before we could even get started with renovations.  We had no choice but to put the new program on indefinite hold and hope something else eventually came along.

Nearly a year later, a community-minded man in Chicago contacted Project Raise The Roof out of the blue.  He owned a St. Louis property which was no longer practical to maintain due to time and distance, and he was looking to donate it to a charitable organization that could use the space as a home base to serve clients and improve the neighborhood.

PRTR immediately began preparing the paperwork.  On Friday, ACOPP and PRTR met our notary at MoKaBe’s to sign the deed, and headed to City Hall to finalize the transaction.  This weekend, ACOPP’s founder, Hakee Mitchell, and PRTR’s executive director got our first peek inside!  Not only was this property secure from vandalism, it’s more space than we ever could have hoped for!  We can’t wait to get started on clean-out and finally begin the Sledgehammer Challenge!  Check it out, and get ready to help us expand the skillsets of local kids and rejuvenate a community!  Contact us at [email protected] to see how you can get involved!

BIG THANKS to our generous property donor, Mr. Rudy Newson!