On Thursday afternoon, June 29, 2017 Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM) welcomed more than 200 guests to the unveiling and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of The Harrell Family Opportunity Center.

The Harrell Family Opportunity Center is an expansion of NAM’s vocational training and job readiness programs through NAM’s Learning Center. The Opportunity Center will allow NAM clients to receive the education and skills they need to achieve financial, professional and emotional independence, while also providing local employers the chance to recruit the employees they need for positions that are difficult to fill.

Attendees enjoyed a moving invocation given by Dr. Paul Nazarian, Senior Pastor at Northwoods Presbyterian Church, as well as remarks by Brian Carr, NAM’s Chief Advancement Officer, Mike Watford, NAM Board of Trustees Chairman, Curtis Harrell, President-Chief Executive Officer at Citation Oil & Gas and Carole Little, NAM’s President & CEO.

“I am so pleased to see this building stand here today,” explained Little. “But more than pleased, I am thankful to all of our supporters for making this dream a reality for NAM, especially the Harrell Family. The Harrells always believed in giving a hand up to neighbors in need without expecting anything in return. Along with the Harrells’ generosity and vision, hundreds of other outstanding supporters are the reason why this building stands here today—because they believed in investing in our community’s future. We want to continue transforming lives and this new building is the first step toward that goal.”

The Harrell Family Opportunity Center is named in honor of Eddie Harrell, his wife Sandra and their sons for their continued support of NAM’s mission of Neighbors Helping Neighbors. The Harrells gave NAM a seven-figure gift to its Capital Campaign Roots & Wings, which allowed the construction of the new building to start in the summer of 2016.

The new building is approximately 32,000 square-feet and has two stories. It will provide space for hosting career fairs, employee-specific hiring events, conferences, training sessions, NAM events, community events and workforce development functions. The second floor will oversee the expansion of NAM’s current vocational programs, as well as the addition of new programs to our ever-expanding class curriculum. The first floor will house NAM’s community store, NAM Resale in September 2017.

Some of the features of the new building include:

• State-of-the-art facility with a large multi-purpose room that can accommodate more than 300 people, break-out rooms, a food-preparation area and training rooms with audio/visual capabilities
• New and modern computer lab to continue with ESL and GED trainings
• An entire room dedicated to the instruction of the Certified Sterile Processing Technician Program and the Administrative Professional Program

The Harrell Family Opportunity Center is open for scheduled events only. If you’d like to schedule a tour, please contact Brian Carr, Chief Advancement Officer at (281) 885-4605 or [email protected]. Tours are by appointment only. If you would like to enquire about pricing and availability for events, please contact Paul McKee at (281) 885-4570 or [email protected]. The Harrell Family Opportunity Center is located at 15702 Bammel Village Drive, Houston, Texas 77014.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of NAM’s supporters, volunteers and staff for attending this exciting event and for your continued support of NAM’s programs and services. Special thanks to City Council Member Mike Knox; Ivan Sanchez on behalf of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee; Asdrubal “Dru” Gutierrez and Cody Wheeler on behalf of Commissioner Rodney Ellis and Heaven Fisher on behalf of Councilwoman Amanda Edwards. Thank you for all your efforts in our community and for your continued support of NAM’s mission.

Northwest Assistance Ministries is a nonprofit, community-based social service agency that strives to meet basic human needs through Neighbors Helping Neighbors. NAM provides assistance in areas such as food, shelter, health, education and domestic violence awareness and intervention. In the last fiscal year, NAM touched the lives of more than 114,000 people through its many programs and services.

For more information about NAM, please visit www.namonline.org or call (281) 885-4555.