Washington County nonprofit finds new home
Robert Stewart
A Springdale-based nonprofit organization is planning to relocate away from a communal space to its own building.
The Children’s Safety Center of Washington County, located in the Center for Nonprofits at The JTL Shop on Emma Avenue, offers services to physical and sexual abuse survivors and their families. Peyton Stewman, the strategic partnerships coordinator, said the organization launched a $12.5 million campaign to move to its own space after 24 years there.
The sign on the doors at The Center for Nonprofits at The JTL Shop on Emma Avenue. The Children’s Safety Center of Washington County has operated out of that space since 1997. Photo by Robert Stewart.
The campaign began in 2019, but it really took off in April, which is Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month, Stewman said.
Jennifer Irwin, the director of leadership for the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, is on the campaign committee, having supported the Children’s Safety Center for about 10 years. Irwin said it is important to support nonprofit organizations in the community with horrors such as child abuse happening so often.
“To be able to play a small part by giving a little bit of a donation or raising awareness for somebody,” Irwin said, “I just think it’s our job to do that.”
Stewman said the $12.5 million campaign fund for a new building sits at about $10.2 million.
A rendering of the organization’s new building on Gene George Boulevard in Springdale. It is expected to open in late 2023. Photo courtesy of the Children’s Safety Center of Washington County.
Most of that money came from local partners and organization staff and board members. The biggest contribution came from the J.B. and Johnelle Hunt family in the form of a $3 million donation, which earned the Hunt family the building’s naming rights. Irwin said the donation stemmed from a tour the couple’s daughter, Jane, took.
“If you’ve been there to see the handprints on the wall, and to just hear all the things that they do and the horror stories and all of that,” Irwin said, “I just think it touched Jane’s heart.”
Handprints line the walls of the organization’s lobby. The current space is about 5,000 square feet. Photo by Robert Stewart.
The new building is expected to open in fall 2023, Stewman said. It will be located on seven acres of land on Gene George Boulevard, near the home of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
The Children’s Safety Center is operating out of a 5,000-square foot office at its current location, so the move will triple the size of its space. Stewman said that increase will be invaluable.
In addition to the extra space, Stewman said the location ― just off Interstate 49 ― should be much more convenient for all parties involved.
“That’s another issue for law enforcement and families, especially if it’s something that’s happening in the middle of the night or really early in the morning,” Stewman said. “It can be hard to find us where we’re at, so that visibility will be huge, too.”