Nonprofit camp 'because I said I would.' rebuilding 1 year after fire

News 5 is following through with a local nonprofit that's been on an emotional journey for the past year. We first told you about it last summer when fire destroyed the headquarters of the brand-new headquarters for camp “because I said I would."

The images from June 5, 2023, are still burned into Alex Sheen’s memory. Sheen is the founder of the nonprofit “because I said I would.”

Fire destroys 'because I said I would' nonprofit's new headquarters

RELATED: Fire destroys 'because I said I would' nonprofit's new headquarters and event space

“This was our worldwide headquarters moved from Lakewood,” said Sheen. “It’s not only had our dining hall which included our kitchen and all our event space, but our warehouse for computers, files, all those promise cards over the course of a decade.”

Sheen has dedicated his life to helping grieving families learn resiliency skills through retreats and camps. The fire at the nonprofit's new $3.3 million camp headquarters just east of Columbus put all that on hold, but not for long.

“Our programming only closed for four days, and we keep helping others,” Sheen added.

News 5 kept following recovery efforts step by step; there’s not a new building yet, but it’s coming soon.

“We just finalized the floor plan for our new 4,100 square foot Grand Hall we are calling it,” Sheen said.

The new space will hold upwards of 100 people, equipped with a kitchen, dining space, and even a stage.

"If we can raise another $250,000, we could actually double the size of our capacity,” Sheen added.

Sheen said despite just now receiving the insurance money this week for last year's total loss fire, it's thanks to the volunteers and monetary donations over the past year that allowed him and his team to continue helping grieving Ohio families.

“We are here to help people build resiliency skills who have gone through much worse things than losing a building.

Sheen said they have plans to break ground on the $1.6 million grand hall project in September. He’s hopeful the project will be complete by May 2025.

RELATED: Nonprofit begins rebuilding process after headquarters is destroyed in fire

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