The Volunteer Way Could Open Warehouse Soon

It looks like The Volunteer Way is close to opening its new warehouse, where it will store food for those in need and provide services to its clients.

Lester Cypher, chief executive officer of nonprofit The Volunteer Way, said he expects “Phase 1” of the building’s creation to be complete in a month to a month-and-a-half. The organization will then begin storing food and move its services there from its current headquarters just down the street.

The building has been a long time coming.  Cypher said he embarked on the project years ago. 

"I can really see the light at the end of the tunnel that I thought I would never come out of,” Cypher said.

The Volunteer Way was founded in 1992 and helps people struggling with poverty connect with food and resources.

Its headquarters are currently located at 7820 Congress St. in the New Port Richey area, where it gives out food and supplies to those in need on-site.  It also operates a soup kitchen and outreach center in Moon Lake, a hydroponic program and food pantry program that donates to other charitable organizations. 

Cypher said the Congress headquarters only has about 4,800 square feet of  space.

The organization serves about 20,000 families monthly through all its services, including those services housed at the Congress Street facility and elsewhere. It hands out at about 7.5 million pounds of food annually.

The new warehouse, located at 8061 Congress St., Port Richey, gives Volunteer Way some more room to work with. Cypher says it will have 10,000 square feet of space on the first floor and 5,000 on its second. In addition, Cypher hopes to cultivate a hydroponic gardening program and add "edible landscape."  The warehouse is on nearly seven acres of land.

The warehouse’s price tag is $800,000, Cypher said. The majority of money needed has been raised through donations, he said.

The new warehouse has been a huge undertaking, Cypher said. He said he started the effort two years ago.

“I estimated two years ago it would take six months,” he said.

The new warehouse will also house The Volunteer Way’s offices eventually.  He wants to make the current headquarters into a resource center.

Greg Giordano, a board member for The Volunteer Way, praised Cypher’s success at avoiding incurring debt when creating the new warehouse’s costs under control.

“Once it opens, it’s going to be part of the Volunteer Way without any encumbrances,” he said.

Thus, donations can go straight to services for clients.

It’s going to be a dream come true for Cypher, Giordano said.

“It’s going to revolutionize the way the Volunteer way can provide services and products,” he said.  

For more information about the Volunteer Way, visit its website.