Goodwill and the City of Elkhart are well underway in the process of transforming the abandoned former Sears building at Woodland Crossing into the Mission Services Hub, a new nexus for Goodwill Mission programs in Elkhart County.
The project, which broke ground in mid-April of this year, is set to bring all of Goodwill Mission Services under one roof: the Excel Center, the Academy, Nurse-Family Partnership, and Second Chance. Currently spread across several locations, these programs cover services that range from adult and technical education, infant and prenatal mentorship, career skill training, and more.
“The new neighborhood opportunity hub is going to be home to an array of services that are going to benefit our folks here in Elkhart,” said Goodwill CEO Debie Coble. “I am just so excited to see what this part of Elkhart is going to look like in just a short period of time.”
Construction on the Mission Services Hub is progressing quickly and Goodwill is currently targeting December of this year for completion. Once finished, Goodwill will occupy half of the 109,000-square-foot building, which has been vacant since 2017.
One of the primary goals of the Hub is to increase the capacity and accessibility of the Excel Center, an adult high school where students may earn a core 40 high school diploma. At its previous location, the Excel Center could host, at most, 280 students. At the Mission Services Hub, that center will be able to increase to charter capacity of 350. Students at the Hub will also benefit from on site child care.
“These are individuals who are over 18 and decided that they want more out of life, it keeps getting better,” Coble said. “If they have little ones, they can drop them off at the Kids Excel at no cost, and we’ll take care of their precious little ones while they are in class.”
The Hub is also located in the heart of the Pierre Moran neighborhood, where 1/3 of the adult population does not have a high school diploma, 1/3 of the families are single-parent households, and 22% of the residents live below the poverty line.
“When I was elected in 2020, we knew that we needed to invest in all areas of Elkhart in order to create the vibrancy that all of our residents wanted and deserved,” said Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson. “I grew up a few blocks away from the Hub’s location, and this was always a staple area for the south side of Elkhart. Now, it’s reinventing itself in a manner that allows us to thrive.”
The Hub’s centralized nature is set to provide a transformative influence on the neighborhood and Elkhart at large.
“In our minds, it’s all about improving lives and creating stronger families,” Roberson said. “That’s what makes the Hub so meaningful to our city.” All services at the Mission Services Hub will be free to the community. To learn more about Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Inc., and its services, visit Goodwill-NI.org.
