Photo courtesy of Lindy Cleveland.
Students at Unless U perform the musical, “The Greatest Showman.” Unless U is fundraising to pay for a new building on Chestnut Street.
As of July, Unless U has received $1.25 million of the $1.3 million fundraising goal they set late last year to pay for their new building on Chestnut Street.
The program, which offers continuing education for adults with special needs, is hoping to move in by the end of the year, Executive Director Lindy Cleveland said.
The property at 737 Chestnut Street, next to Vestavia Hills United Methodist Church, was donated to the organization by the church as well as neighbors Jerry and Karen Duncan.
The organization began in 2014 at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, but the plan was always to move from the church into a “forever home,” Cleveland said.
“This was never meant to be a long-term solution [at SMBC],” Cleveland previously said.
Unless U has reached maximum capacity at the church, where they must set up and tear down each week to meet the church’s needs, Cleveland said. Currently, the school teaches students four days a week, and they have 67 students signed up for the summer semester.
The new building will give them room to grow in the future, as well as the recognition of a building with their name on it, Cleveland said.
Most of the donations have come from the community, as well as friends and family of the organization, Cleveland said. The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham also awarded $50,000 to Unless U.
“It’s been pretty overwhelming,” Cleveland said.
The grant gives the organization some accreditation as well, Cleveland said, as people recognize the work of the Community Foundation.
The organization also held an Unless U Shop event in April, which raised $10,000, Cleveland said. At the event, students performed songs from the movie, “The Greatest Showman.”
Now, Unless U is working to acquire small business and corporate sponsorships. Those interested in donating can make a $5,000 brick pledge for the project. In-kind donations are also accepted, Cleveland said, such as helping with construction or other projects related to the move.
With the rising cost of construction, Cleveland said she’s hoping to exceed the original goal, but there is no set amount. Construction had not yet started as of mid-July, but the building should be ready by the end of the year, Cleveland said.
The new space will allow Unless U to move to teaching 75 students for five days a week, as well as hosting multiple classrooms, a library, a lunchroom, a job skills classroom, a fine arts space, offices and more. Cleveland said there will also be an Unless U Ice Cream Shoppe, where students will work and sell ice cream to the public.
The students are getting excited, and Cleveland said she’s just ready for the move.
“They’re pumped,” Cleveland said. “... We’re all ready. We all feel like the Israelites, wandering in the desert for 40 years, but we’re getting to the promised land, I promise.
“... I’m ready for my desk to not have wheels on it,” Cleveland said.
In the fall, Unless U will host a banquet to celebrate their capital campaign’s success, and in February, the organization will hold “Unless U got Talent,” a talent competition to be held at The Lyric theatre in downtown Birmingham on Feb. 29 at 6:30 p.m. Students will partner with local celebrities and compete to win the competition. To donate, visit unlessu.org/uugottalent
For more information about Unless U, visit unlessu.org.