LIFE REVITALIZATION CENTER

Owens Corning Foundation donates $500,000 for building-trades school

Former Macomber High School Building houses the Cherry Street Ministries Life Revitalization Center. December of 2015.

The Owens Corning Foundation announced today a $500,000 donation to Cherry Street Mission Ministries that establishes a building-trades school for those in need.

Leaders from the foundation and ministry held a news conference at the Life Revitalization Center, the former Macomber High School on Monroe Street. This collaboration will create the Owens Corning School for Building Trades.

The center is expected to be 4,000 square feet and open in the third quarter of this year, said Dan Rogers, president and chief executive of Cherry Street Mission Ministries.

“We’re very pleased to have Owens Corning in as a funder and as a partner in education with respect to adults,” Mr. Rogers said.

Owens Community College will operate a satellite location there and teach construction, plumbing, electrical, and rough carpentry skills.

Mr. Rogers said the Life Revitalization Center opens schools that provide training for jobs in need. There are openings for more people to build and rehabilitate houses, he said.

These donated funds will go toward infrastructure and equipment in the building, Mr. Rogers said.

“As a matter of fact, the half a million dollars of investment covers what we need to get this school operational,” Mr. Rogers said.

Contact Ryan Dunn at: rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @rdunnblade.