DECATUR - Thanks to an anonymous gift of $40,000, Northeast Community Fund is expanding.

To start the expansion, "We needed the right person for a 'spark,' " said Jerry Pelz, executive director. "God answered that."

About a year ago, Northeast purchased what had been an Illini Electric facility immediately adjacent to the south side of its existing site, according to Pelz, who said the gift will enable the agency to double the space it had to serve clients while about tripling overall space.

Thanks to continued donations, Northeast expects to complete renovation within weeks, he said. While time, materials and labor have been donated, he added, monetary donations have been given without solicitation to enable the purchase of some of the needed materials and labor.

"All of our food will be over on (the new) side, clothing on this side," Pelz said. "And we'll redo the entrance a little bit."

The change will make entering the building more energy efficient during extreme temperatures.

Not only will Northeast have additional space, but it also can now change how food is distributed, said Pelz, who added that he believes it's a change for the better.

"What we are going to do is go to a food choice," he explained. "There will be some limits, but (clients) will have a choice of what they want."

Rather than supply a family with a vegetable or fruit, which might be something they don't like, there will be some options.

"It will make better usage of what's actually given to them," Pelz said, as well as enable Northeast to have a better understanding of what people will eat. "It will give more dignity and control for the people involved."

Pelz expects this method of food distribution to speed up the process of serving people.

Another thing that will be really helpful, Pelz said, is that the volunteers in both food and clothing areas now will have their own space for working. There are six to eight volunteers on any given day at Northeast, he added.

Already this year, Northeast has served more than 10,000 individuals, according to Dave Hinkle, assistant director.

Volunteers and laborers come and go as their time allows. As he worked on electrical wiring in the area being renovated, Greg Giberson of Illini Electric said, "We were neighbors for years. We're doing all the electric, whatever they need, getting here when we can."

Eric Juvinall, a union sheet metal worker, said he was volunteering his labor while he was laid off for a couple of weeks. "It gives them help in the long run," he said.

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