New building in East Bremerton will enhance services.
Christmas arrived early for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington as the organization publicly announced the purchase of a new facility in East Bremerton.
The organization’s Peninsula Girl Scout Program Center is currently located at the intersection of Warren Avenue and 11th Street in Bremerton, but when the city of Bremerton decided to widen Warren Avenue in 2006, the Girl Scouts were forced to find a new location.
“I think it’s going to be a win-win for everybody,” Bremerton Mayor Cary Bozeman said. “I think giving them three years was a good idea.”
When the city announced plans to improve the intersection because of growing safety and visibility concerns in 2006, the Girl Scouts were given until April 2009 to relocate from the facility they have utilized since 1939.
The new facility, located at 1600 NE Winters Road off State Route 303 in East Bremerton, has 5,800-square feet of space and includes an abundance of free parking, which is in stark contrast to its current building, which has limited space and parking along with accessibility challenges.
The original purchase price of the new building was $870,000 plus thousands of dollars in architectural, engineering and construction costs leaving the organization with a hefty financial burden.
However, the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust and the Seattle Foundation chipped in $74,600 and the Girl Scouts have been recommended to receive $205,000 in state funding from the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, pending state legislative approval.
While almost $300,000 in funding is a help, the organization still needs more than $500,000 to complete the purchase and move into the new facility by April 2009.
In order to raise the necessary funds, the Girl Scouts have set several levels for donors.
Among the available donation options are:
• $300,000 Level: Naming of the Girl Scout Program Center.
• $50,000 Level: Multi-purpose area.
• $10,000 Level: Three opportunities including the regional director’s office, the stage in the activity hall and the kitchen.
$10,000 Level – three opportunities
Stage in Activity Hall
• $5,000 Level: Nine opportunities including seven staff offices, the training room and the work room.
Staff offices – seven opportunities
• $4,999 to $2,500 Level: Each donor’s name will be placed on a permanent donor wall in large lettering on the foyer.
• $2,499 – $1,000 Level: A listing on the donor wall in the activity hall.
The Girl Scouts also are seeking in-kind donations of office and meeting room furniture, cabinets for the work station in the lobby, 500-square feet of carpet, 1,000-square feet of flooring tile, 12 windows, furnaces, hot water tanks, paint and primer for the exterior and interior, lighting fixtures for the activity room and plumbing fixtures for the new bathroom.
Volunteers will be needed for painting in March 2009 and landscaping in March and April 2009.
Those interested in donating are encouraged to contact Sharon Cupp, vice president of neighborhood troop services for the Girl Scouts of Western Washington, by phone at (206) 826-2186 or by e-mail at sharoncc@girlscoutsww.org.
Donations to offset the cost can be made via the Girl Scouts of Western Washington Web site, https://www.GirlScoutsWW.org/donate or through checks made payable to GSWW-Bremerton Campaign, P.O. Box 90061, Seattle, WA 98109.
