Transformation Ministries to celebrate opening of new building Thursday night

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - A local organization that’s focused on bettering children and teens here in Michiana is celebrating the grand opening of its new building.

Transformation Ministries is cutting the ribbon on its new $5.6 million facility at 1101 King Street in South Bend on Thursday night. The money raised for the new building came from community donations.

16 News Now got a look inside the new facility, which the organization believes will empower it to continue transforming lives.

Kory Lantz, the executive director, started Transformation Ministries with his wife in their home on the northwest side of town back in 2009. He told our own Joshua Short a story about one of their first students.

“We met her and her family when she was a freshman in high school,” he recalled. “She joined ISI, which is one of our leadership programs. She graduated, she went to school, and now she’s back here working on staff as our director of food services.

“So, she is getting her culinary degree at Ivy Tech, and she’ll be full-time coming up this next May and she’ll be doing our meals and food for our families and students,” he continued. “We serve a large group of kids every night, and she will be leading that thing.”

Josh also caught up with Dr. Redgina Hill, the organization’s board president. She grew up just blocks away from the new facility.

“This is my neighborhood, and so I’m so proud to see this facility now,” she said. “When I was growing up this was not here. There was no place for us to go that was safe and that was welcoming for the people within the neighborhood not charging outrageous costs to come and use the facility. This is for the members within our community.”

Thursday night’s ribbon cutting is set for 6 p.m. It will be followed by an open house that will include self-guided tours and light refreshments.

According to organizers, the families and children whose lives have been transformed through this organization will be cutting the ribbon.

to learn more about the organization’s mission and the K-12 programs, click here.

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