North Tahoe’s shared Community House officially opens doors

Tags: Collaborations, Community House, Impact Investing

KINGS BEACH, Calif. — Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation’s Community House opened its doors last week, thanks to exceptional efforts of local community members and businesses.

Dozens of committed volunteers invested thousands of hours working on project oversight, raising $2.2 million in public and private funds and rolling up their sleeves to get the project built.

Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation launched the Community House project in 2012 with the vision of redeveloping a blighted 1950s motel into a welcoming one-stop shop for integrated social service delivery.

Located in the heart of Kings Beach on the corner of Bear and Trout streets, Community House is the new-shared space for North Tahoe Family Resource Center, Tahoe SAFE Alliance and Project MANA.

“Community members can now access a variety of services in one location,” said Theresa May Duggan, one of the community leaders and volunteers on the Community House project. “From crisis and mental health counseling to emergency food services, from parenting classes to simply connecting with each other, Community House is a welcoming facility that demonstrates that a united community can really build something wonderful.”

Community House is more than a building. It is about a new way of serving community needs and using philanthropic dollars for long-term impact.

By offering not only crisis intervention, but also wellness and nutrition education, Community House services will lead families to a path of self-reliance.

“All community members can access needed services and support at Community House,” said Amy Kelley, executive director of the North Tahoe Family Resource Center. “In addition to our comprehensive advocacy services we will be offering nutritional classes, financial planning workshops and a variety of community education classes, appealing to anyone looking to connect with their neighbor.”

Community House is open Monday-Friday, 8-5 p.m. Neighbors and the public are encouraged to tour the facility.

“What excited us about the Community House model was that it moved our foundation beyond traditional grant funding,” said stated Stacy Caldwell, CEO of Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation. “We’re investing in a project that supports the triple bottom line in our region — the social benefits in the delivery of services; the environmental enhancements from the best management practices on the property; and the economic boost to the neighborhood. It’s a win-win-win.”

Learn more about TTCF and Community House at www.ttcf.net.

Originally featured here by the Tahoe Daily Tribune on 7/1/2014 as a special from Seana Doherty of FreshTracks Communications