Tanager Place goes public with $6.5 million fundraising goal

CEDAR RAPIDS - A lack of room used to mean parents had to wait in the parking lot for their child to get out of an appointment at the Tanager Place outpatient clinic.

Now the clinic on the third floor has been gutted, remodeled and will double the number of children served - thanks to the 'Soaring Beyond” capital campaign.

The organization's focus is to help children and their families through prevention, treatment and research on behavioral health problems. Among them: autism, ADHD, sexual abuse, eating and anxiety disorders, chronic illness and depression.

The campaign started quietly last year and private donations alone raised $5.3 million. On Feb. 11, the campaign was announced to the public. Since then, the total has increased by $500,000.

Although still short of the $6.5 million goal, Tanager Place's Chief Executive Officer Okpara Rice said the community's influence has been profound.

'For somebody that didn't grow up here, this community is incredibly philanthropic and our mission speaks to people,” Rice said. 'Mental illness and mental health challenges every socioeconomic status, so the message just resonates with people that know kids need help. This project allowed us to help more kids, and that's real. People are just so incredibly giving.”

The capital campaign will pay for the building purchase and renovations made last year at 1030 Fifth Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids Tanager Place.

At the outpatient facilities alone, Tanager Place receives more than 150 new referrals from doctors, families and schools every month in Linn and surrounding counties. It serves more than 5,000 children annually through all the programs at its outpatient and separate inpatient facility at 2309 C St. SW in Cedar Rapids. Since the new clinic opened, an additional 3,658 appointments have been scheduled.

'We are growing so fast we have already run out of room,” Rice said of the renovated third floor. 'Now we want to open up other suites in the building for use with therapy and mental health in mind. We would like to get a pediatrician and dentist to make it a one-stop shop for families.”

Tanager Place renovated lower levels to move its outpatient community-based services downstairs. The building also offers leasable space for businesses.

With more than 75 percent of its goal achieved, Tanager Place already has brought various aspects of its organization together under one roof.

'It has been very powerful,” Rice said. 'Everything was done over email, and now we have the ability to walk to someone's office and say, ‘Hey, can I get five minutes from you?' It makes a huge difference. In this new space, we can have a team of people sit down and have a conversation about one child and one family.”

To make a donation to the Soaring Beyond campaign, call (319) 365-9164 or visit www.TanagerPlace.org.