CrossWord Café begins fundraising

Celebrates loft opening, announces May rummage sale

It’s all about the 10s with CrossWord Café.

The teen hangout, at 947 N. Second St., will celebrate a decade of existence in September, and officials plan to fundraise for $10,000 to keep the café going.

The “Keep the Café” campaign includes 10 fundraisers to conclude Oct. 10, 2010, at 10:10.10 a.m.

“We’re into 10s on this, and we’re going to trust God and see what happens,” said café director John Heffron.

By early this summer, officials said the café would be in trouble financially if fundraising did not begin.

On Thursday night, officials announced the fundraising plan and celebrated the opening of The Treehouse Loft. The loft is a creative, second-floor seating area.

From the unique stairs to looking like a child’s treehouse, the loft was created by teens for their fellow teens.

The idea came from IMPACT 2009, an eighth-grade lock-in retreat.

Two hardwood flooring businesses donated materials for the loft, which is made of bamboo wood and other woods.

To make the framework, the kids added the screws and 12 guys slid it into place to attach to the walls.

Using creativestairways.com, the idea of the stairs to get up to the loft allows teens to put one foot in each step to climb to the top,

At one point, Heffron said maybe they should think twice about the stairs, to which the teens said, “Well, if you don’t want it to be cool ...”

That was enough to encourage Heffron to call a lifeline of contractors to assist in the cause.

While they did not want a slick look to the treehouse loft, Heffron said, it needed to be easily cleaned.

Once the framework was up, it was then time for the artistic students to make the area look like a treehouse, complete with the tree.

Volunteer Brittany Du Pont, whose husband, Brian, is the Illinois Valley Central District 321 art teacher, helped the students branch out the project through art.

“Hard work pays off,” said IVC sophomore Will Smith about the project.

Smith and Collin Beal both cut the Chillicothe Chamber of Commerce ribbon at the Business After Hours
event Thursday night.

“It’s been a really neat project and it’s built for kids, by kids,” said Beal.

Du Pont added, “The whole idea is from kids.”

The café is a conglomeration of many residents assisting in the continuation of the café, which operates on a $30,000 annual budget.

Building owners Denny and Nancy Gould waived the month’s rent in order for the café to make the treehouse loft a reality. And, Heffron pointed out, the Goulds allowed them to add the loft to the building.

“We believe in the cause,” Nancy Gould said. “I am hoping that people will come to their aid.”
Just down the street, Crazy Charlie’s donated a guitar for the café’s benefit rummage sale May 13-15.

The silent auction bidding begins at $150 and ends May 15.

The sale will benefit the café, Love-in-Action food pantry and Small World Connections.

Residents also may assist the cause by dropping off rummage-sale items from 3 to 5 p.m. May 10-13.

Café volunteers give guitar lessons on Thursday nights and have at least a dozen or more students in attendance. About 15 to 20 volunteers assist in the café’s work.

During the rest of the week, teens can hang out and play games, receive help with homework and more.

On the weekends, the café also can be a place to showcase their musical talents through open mike night or when bands play.

The café offers students from a wide variety of backgrounds a place to “be safe and do cool things,” Heffron said.