Established in 1980, Tyler Mountain/Cross Lanes Community Services (TMCLCS) provides basic emergency services to low and no-income families and seniors in the communities of Tyler Mountain and Cross Lanes. The small non-profit began as essentially a ministerial association, and over the years has secured funding from various grant makers which has enabled the organization to succeed and expand.
TMCLCS now provides a food pantry, assistance with rent, utilities, some prescription payments, and a Christmas meal basket to over 1,100 individuals each year. In addition to funding and services it receives from The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, The United Way of Central WV, and the WV Bureau of Senior Services, TMCLCS receives funding and in-kind support from about 25 ongoing sponsors, including local churches, businesses, community groups, grocers, the Boy and Girl Scouts organizations, and individual patrons.
Out with the Old
TMCLCS recently received a capacity-building grant from the Pallottine Foundation which provided funds specifically for computers, website-building, and training. With their new computers installed, Karen Henson-Bibbee, long-term volunteer and wife of the organization’s director, Jason Bibbee, realized the importance of investing in a totally revamped website. “We really needed a better website to work with,” Karen recalls. “Our old website was so clunky that I just couldn’t use it to do my work anymore!”
Karen reached out to a couple of website designers who were unresponsive. She remembered seeing another organization’s website built by Bricks Without Straw, owned by Jamie Summers-Brown, and was impressed. “So, I called Jamie, and he jumped right on it! We discussed ideas for a website, I gave him our budget, he sent over a few testimonials about his work -- and then I kinda let him loose!”
Due to Covid-19, Karen and Jamie continued to meet almost exclusively by phone. The old website gave Jamie some basic material to build upon, and Karen sent him updates so that he could proceed according to plan.
In with the New
Jamie’s work rebuilding the TMCLCS website went beyond the basics that Karen envisioned. “He connected the new website to Facebook, which was great,” she notes, “and he added a PayPal donation button, which immediately generated about $1,000 for us.” Karen stresses that for a small non-profit such as TMCLCS, the additional $1,000 was super helpful. Jamie’s upgrade also included what most people consider to be a small thing -- a Contact Us page. But Karen values it greatly: “Plenty of people use it to ask us their questions, which keeps them from making an unnecessary trip to see us.”
The new website makes it easier for TMCLCS to reach the public. People throughout the service area can now access all the information they need about the organization and they can make donations safely online.
A Great Experience
Jamie’s work was thorough and has made a significant impact. Karen considers working with him to be a pleasure. “He’s very polite, very knowledgeable, and he did a good job of describing things to me in layman’s terms.” Karen emphasizes that Jamie’s work was entirely remote, except for one office visit he made to clear-up a connection issue. It turned out to be a non-issue that didn’t require Jamie’s assistance. Karen recalls, “I was kind of embarrassed, really, that he’d made the trip to the office when it turned out to be totally unnecessary!” That episode remains etched in Karen’s mind, not just because of its awkwardness, but because Jamie made the trip without complaint.
Karen summarizes Jamie’s time building a new website for Tyler Mountain/Cross Lanes Community Services as “short and sweet.” Jamie continues his connection to the organization, hosting the website and remaining available for future tweaks.
