Featured Nonprofit

Brookwood in Georgetown

After more than five years providing entrepreneurial and vocational day programs for adults with disabilities, Brookwood in Georgetown, or BiG, has a new 9,000-square-foot facility to call home.

The organization had been operating out of the Georgetown Church of Christ with a separate location for its store; however, on May 2 the nonprofit opened in its new location at 905 N. Church St. that will allow the nonprofit to expand its services, founder and Director Erin Kiltz said.

BiG has 32 participants, who are called citizens, and who work to make floral arrangements, bake, make jewelry or cards, grow produce and create pottery. Items are sold at the BiG store, which also relocated to the new location, as well as at local businesses, including Hat Creek Burger Co.

“[Our goal is to] change the way the world thinks about adults with special needs,” Kiltz said.

All items in the store are made by BiG citizens or come from other nonprofits and social missions throughout the world, she said.

“Our vision for our store … is that every purchase is meaningful,” Kiltz said. “We care about those that are also doing wonderful things locally and around the world.”

With the new facility BiG is able to expand its services to work with 75 citizens.

The new site also features a cafe, which is expected to open in June and will provide citizens another opportunity to work and be trained with new skills, including how to make coffee drinks with a manual espresso machine, Kiltz said.

The cafe is expected to open as a grab-and-go cafe serving coffee drinks as well as sandwiches, salads and baked goods.

Kiltz said she also hopes to begin construction on a greenhouse by the end of July.

Volunteers are needed to help in the store, in the cafe and with citizens, Kiltz said. Each Tuesday from 6:30-8:30 p.m. volunteers are also needed to help with production, which could include packaging items or glazing pottery, she said.

“Brookwood in Georgetown is where we are because of an extremely benevolent community,” Kiltz said.

905 N. Church St., Georgetown | 512-966-7574
www.brookwoodingeorgetown.org
Hours: Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (store), Mon.-Sat. 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (cafe), closed Sun.

Nonprofit Roundup

2. The Family Eldercare Summer Fan Drive begins May 25. The drive collects fans for low-income residents including seniors, people with disabilities and families with children. Monetary donations for fans and air-conditioning units are also accepted. Fans can be donated at all five Georgetown fire stations as well as the Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home in Georgetown. Fans will be distributed in Georgetown at The Caring Place, 2000 Railroad Ave., Georgetown, on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The nonprofit will also distribute fans to Healthy Option Program for the Elderly clients on June 14 and July 12 as well as Thursday evenings on May 26, June 23 and July 28. 512-943-0700. www.summerfandrive.org

3. Seeds of Strength awarded $154,000 in grants to seven Georgetown-area nonprofits during an April 26 meeting. The women’s giving circle heard presentations from 14 area nonprofits before voting on the grant recipients. www.seedsofstrength.org

Grants were given to: 

The Boys and Girls Club
of Georgetown
$25,000 for mentor programming

Brookwood in Georgetown
$25,000 for kitchen equipment

Capital IDEA
$25,000 for the advancement
of education

Court Appointed Special Advocates
$24,000 for CASA advocates
for the support of children

Hope Alliance
$20,000

The Palace Theatre
$10,000 for a program for special needs children

Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center
$25,000 for medical exams