Grateful for progress on projects

Maintaining the refuge of the Benevolent Association remains a strong focus for our trustees and administration. While many projects still need to be funded in our Master Plan, we’re grateful to share some of the work that has been completed over the past several months, thanks to the generous support of donors.

ROOF REPAIRS 

The Original Building’s slate roof is 105 years old and continues to need care. This past year it developed a number of leaks. Thanks to generous donors, a team of roofing specialists armed with an articulated boom lift and climbing equipment, spent several weeks making the needed roof repairs to “seal the envelope” before the fall weather arrived.

RESTORING WOODLAND ACCESS

The tranquil woodland is a cherished part of the BA’s 24-acre campus. There’s a wonderful sense of peace and beauty which is enjoyed by many as they meander along the trails and pathways. Working closely with our arborist, we determined there were a number of trees that needed to be taken down, some of which were related to the safety of our buildings and those of our neighbors. While we didn’t have the funds readily available to take care of this, a donor with a deep love for the BA and its healing mission wanted to support this important and needed work and we couldn’t be more thankful.

This past spring and summer, much of the woodland had become overgrown. Additional donations made it possible for our arborist to spend five days with a commercial-grade flail mower cutting and mulching the overgrowth, restoring the woodland, and making it easily accessible again. Thanks to a donor’s gift we were also able to purchase a walk-behind tractor with a brush mower attachment which will allow our facilities team to mow the woodland themselves and save the cost of hiring an outside contractor to do this work.

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Halfway through the summer the roof-top chiller that provides air conditioning to the Main Dining Room began failing. Given the age of the system, our trusted HVAC engineers recommended the most cost-effective solution was to replace the whole system. Within about a week of the chiller going down a donor came forward with a gift that covered the entire cost of the purchase and installation of a new system. What a wonderful, timely provision for the BA! 

PATIENT BEDS

In an effort to provide the greatest care and comfort for our patients, we purchased three new state-of-the-art patient beds, thanks to contributions given for this purpose. These mattresses are designed to provide greater comfort and to better meet the needs of the patient. The new beds are easier for a Christian Science nurse to work with and can be integrated with our new call system.

We are deeply grateful for God’s loving provision of this Christian Science refuge and all those who support this healing activity of Church!