Remick Family donates land for future Jeremiah Program campus in Rochester

The Jeremiah Program has secured space for a future campus in Rochester thanks to a donation by philanthropists Jack and Mary Ann Remick, the organization announced this week.

The Remick Family recently pledged two acres of land just north of Lourdes High School to the organization. The site is located near the intersection of 19th Street Northwest and Valleyhigh Drive.

The Jeremiah Program — a nonprofit that helps single mothers and their children break the cycle of poverty — hopes to begin construction on the $10 million Rochester campus by fall 2019. The building is expected to house up to 40 families at a time and include on-site childcare and development services. 

JoMarie Morris, executive director of the Rochester program, said the land donated by the Remicks is an ideal location given its proximity to various services and job opportunities.

"We are incredibly blessed with the donation of the Remick Family," Morris said in an interview Thursday.

By providing single mothers with early childhood education and an affordable place to live, the Jeremiah Program helps stabilize families and find them a path out of poverty through education and empowerment. The program has been recognized nationally for its two-generation approach. More than 90 percent of its recent graduates are employed or continuing their education.

Since announcing plans to expand to Rochester in 2015, the Jeremiah Program has raised $700,000 toward its capital campaign — with funding coming from the Rochester Area Foundation, Otto Bremer Trust and the Sister of Saint Francis. 

According to Morris, much of the additional funding will likely need to come from governmental sources. She said the organization will find out the status of those funding requests by the end of 2018.

Learn more about Jeremiah Program's efforts in Rochester.

Cover photo: JoMarie Morris / Courtesy the Jeremiah Program