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ForKids' facility for homeless families nears completion

Posted at 6:43 AM, Dec 09, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-09 10:23:58-05

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – ForKids, a nonprofit organization serving homeless families in Hampton Roads, is nearing completion on a $17.5 million dollar facility.

ForKids took a News 3 crew on a tour of the building at the former site of the South Norfolk Public Library on Poindexter Street. It should be completed by late February or early March 2021.

The three-story building will have enough rooms to temporarily house 20-25 families and will have several large classrooms for students to use after school. The new site will even have a large kitchen and a rooftop garden.

“What’s great about this facility is we can do it in five big, huge classrooms plus four individualized tutoring rooms, so we can do some great work with those kids to get them caught up with their peers,” explained ForKids CEO Thaler McCormick.

McCormick says the project is privately funded so far, and she hopes that donors will help them reach their goal, of which they are short by $1.4 million.

“Our biggest concern is that they get immediately sheltered, that we start getting those kids caught up in school, and then we give the families a pathway to stability and hopefully out of poverty long-term,” added McCormick.

Related: ForKids seals 2020 in history with time capsule at nonprofit's future Chesapeake home

Meanwhile, during the holiday season, employees and volunteers with ForKids have been sorting toys donated by the community. They will distribute those, curbside, to families in need.

If you’d like to make a monetary donation to help ForKids buy new toys for children, go to News 3’s Holiday Helpers page.