Courtesy of Rebecca Allen
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church of Manitou Springs proudly announces the installation of the new Community Resource Box now located permanently in our churchyard facing Manitou Avenue. This project was funded by the Manitou Arts, Culture, and Heritage Initiative with funding from the city of Manitou Springs Sales and Use Tax voters approved in 2019.
In July 2020, Rebecca Allen received a MACH grant that fully funded the construction and installation of the Community Resource Box, also meant to honor Amanda Lynn Hanson, a young Manitou resident who was murdered in Manitou almost 19 years ago.
In the spring of 2020, when a construction project led to the dismantling of a makeshift memorial to Amanda on Manitou’s far west end, Allen salvaged found objects from the site that people had left over the past 18 years.
With the help of Sherry Overs and John Matey, these objects were carried down from the hillside into Manitou, where they were stored for safekeeping. With the help of Becky Pontz, a design was drafted for a new memorial for Amanda that would also benefit the community.
After receiving funding from the MACH grant, Manitou residents Ron Allen and Michelle Tomasik helped Allen turn the salvaged objects into a permanent memorial for Amanda that also serves as a Community Resource Box to hold socks, various household and hygiene supplies, and other items that might benefit community members.
Allen, the project coordinator, encourages community members to take what they need from the box, which is accessible 24/7/365 and stocked several times a week. Donations are also needed to help keep the box fully stocked throughout the year.
Items needed most are:
Travel-size toiletries;
Hand warmers, new hats and gloves;
Feminine hygiene products and wipes;
Baby wipes and toilet paper; and
Can openers.
Please, no food or clothing donations. If a cash donation is preferred, make checks payable to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church with “Amanda’s Box” written on the subject line. All donations will directly fund supplies for the Community Resource Box.
Allen would like to thank community members for their support during the construction of the project as well as the MACH board, Concrete Couch and the Manitou Art Center for their help in making this project a success.