A St. Peter community hub is LEDing the way

Run by River of Life Lutheran Church, the Friends Building in St. Peter is a community beacon. The space houses multiple non-profit organizations, including the St. Peter Area Food Shelf, a weekend children's food program, an at-risk youth program, Mankato Rehabilitation Center, a free community clinic, Al-Anon and AA meetings, and church fellowship groups.

With help from the seed grant, River of Life updated all the lighting fixtures from fluorescent to LED throughout the main floor of the building. Jake Anderson, a board member closely involved with the project, says the upgrade is already making a difference in how people experience the Friends Building. Noting that in particular, the St. Peter Area Food Shelf space.

“...this room was in much need of better lighting. Now our patrons can more easily read products and labels,” says Anderson.

In addition to much needed additional lighting, church leadership say the project impact reaches even further. 

“The Friends Building is donation funded,” explains Anderson. “So by decreasing the cost of energy we can invest that money back into the programs we house in our facility.”

“This project has been a great learning experience for us,” says Jake Anderson. “We as an organization have learned a great deal about how grants work and the impacts they have on our community.”

Anderson says his advice to others taking on similar upgrades is to trust the process!

“If we had advice to give to those trying to replicate this project, it would be to stay with it and trust the process,” says Jake Anderson. “It's worth it!”

CERTs is inspired by the St. Peter community’s commitment to supporting one another and proud to be a partner in that effort. Anderson says the appreciation is mutual. 

“This project has been a blessing to us and our community.”