Church gets help with turning house in Albion into new job training ministry
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Harvest Christian Fellowship, which is looking to establish a new ministry next to the church on Route 31 in Albion, was helped in gutting the upstairs of 574 East Ave. on Saturday.
A team from the New York Adult & Teen Challenge Buffalo arrived in the morning and stayed through the afternoon in the project. They removed insulation, took out bathroom fixtures and did other work to get the site ready for a remodel.
The new ministry will be known as Trade 180 and will be a caring community of support for the young marginalized people in Orleans County, ages 18-25, said Heidi Dorpfeld, coordinator of the program.
She wants to connect the young adults with trades professionals in the community. The young adults can learn job skills, and receive spiritual support, Dorpfeld said.
“We want to help people discover their purpose,” Dorpfeld said on Saturday. She is shown outside the Trade 180 building. “We believe every individual is created in the image of God.”
Dorpfeld works as a job coach for students at the Niagara-Orleans BOCES in Medina. She said Trade 180 will assist younger adults who often “fall through the cracks” and need some help connecting to a career.
The team from Buffalo Teen Challenge assists men 18 and older who struggle with life controlling issues. The team is shown removing some of the insulation form the upstairs. The group spoke at Harvest Christian Fellowship during today’s church service.
Dorpfeld, shown upstairs with some of the team from Buffalo, said fixing and upgrading the old house is a strong symbol for the new ministry. “We’re restoring a house that has been forgotten,” she said. “We want to do the same with people and help to renew and restore and put them on a path for success.”
For more on Trade 180, click here or send Dorpfeld an email at tradeoneeighty@gmail.com. She is hopeful the program can start in the fall. She welcomes businesses and mentors to be a part of Trade 180.
