Compass for Kids to hold ribbon cutting for new office

Compass for Kids is holding a ribbon cutting and open house on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at noon to celebrate its new office space. Compass recently purchased a building at 1201 S. Fourth St. after experiencing significant growth and hiring several new staff members.

“We had outgrown what Central Baptist Church could offer us; we’ve been renting office space on the third floor of their building since 2016,” Compass executive director Molly Berendt previously told SBJ. Compass for Kids was founded in 2011 as a ministry of Douglas United Methodist Church and later operated under the umbrella of Family Service Center before becoming its own 501©3 in 2016. “We have really been growing the past seven-and-a-half years since we went independent,” said Berendt.

“We had initially been looking to lease, but financially, it made sense to purchase a building instead,” she said. At 4,700 square feet, the former chiropractor’s office is significantly larger than Compass’ previous office space. However, Berendt noted that the Fourth Street location will serve as the group’s administrative headquarters, but all programming will continue to be offered off-site.

“We will continue to run all of our programs hosted by community partners at other locations, such as the churches that host our after-school program, Club Compass, and our summer camp hosted at various elementary schools,” Berendt said.

Compass has recently added three staff members to newly created positions as part of the organization’s expansion. In September, the nonprofit hired a coordinator for the new youth leadership development program, intended to expand the organization’s outreach to middle and high school students, along with a director of finance and administration. In November, Christy Freeman Stark joined Compass for a marketing position that is jointly funded by Kidzeum.