Sharing and Caring Hands coming down to make way for new facility

The bulldozers will begin tearing down Sharing and Caring Hands on Thursday morning, making way for a new and larger facility to serve some of Minneapolis' neediest residents.

"I spent a lot of years there, helping millions of people. Now, I'm going to miss my building" said founder Mary Jo Copeland, 72, who has earned national and local accolades for her charity work. "But I'm happy we're building."

Sitting in the shadows of downtown Minneapolis' Target Field, Sharing and Caring Hands is in the midst of a $5 million renovating project to add space for youth centers and temporary housing.

Over the last three decades, the faith-based nonprofit has provided food, temporary shelter, clothing, transportation and other needs to Minneapolis' poorest residents. But growing need has overtaken their more modest facility.

The new site is set to open in mid-July, adding family size apartments to the facility's upper two levels and new children and teen centers on its main floor. Copeland said the remodeling project won't displace any homeless residents, and staff made space available in its community rooms for children activities until its opening.

"This [project] is going to give some families that have really been in crisis and lost a lot of hope for another change, to stay a little longer," she said.