The Muncie Mission will still have their annual Thanksgiving dinner this year, even though repairs to the building from a fire over the summer aren't complete.
A fire was started at the Muncie Mission last July 4th at about 5 p.m., causing a $2 million in damage and displacing 61 people living in the two-story dormitory. The Muncie Mission is a faith-based, non-for-profit organization that provides a home to men in the area and helps feed and clothe the needy.
Ray Raines, executive director of the Muncie Mission, said he is pleased with the progress that has been made since the fire.
Raines said the rebuilding schedule is two months ahead of schedule. The Mission should be completely rebuilt in about two weeks. Even though the building isn't complete, the Mission will still hold its annual Thanksgiving dinner.
"I'm always excited to make this announcement about the Mission's annual Thanksgiving dinner, but this year, I'm overly excited. A few weeks ago it didn't seem possible that we would be able to have it this year, but we will be ready," Raines said on the Muncie Mission's website.
The rebuilding crew is currently putting the finishing touches on the Mission's chapel.
"We are really hoping to have our first service on Thanksgiving morning in our rebuilt chapel," Raines said.
Since the fire, the residents at Muncie Mission have been moved to a temporary location in one of their resale stores, the Attic Window, Don Ford, director of development at the Muncie Mission, said.
"The Attic Window is an L-shaped building. So we took the L-shaped wing and made that into a dormitory, chapel and a cafeteria for the men," Ford said.
Muncie Mission hasn't been able to accommodate as many men as they did before the fire. Before the fire, they had 65 beds available, since then they only had 38 available, Raines said.
"Until the building is completely finished, we can't allow any new residents," Ford said.
Raines explained that the residents living there were a great help with maintaining the facility that they had.
"Many of the residents took a personal responsibility to help maintain our facilities," Raines said.
The community response to the Muncie Mission fire has been a good one, Raines said. During the fire, many of the canned and boxed goods were destroyed.
"The fire that happened here has really brought out the best in people," Raines said.
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