For us, “sustainibility” means serving as resposible stewards of all our resources.
Financially, it means strategic use of each dollar, investing in areas that will allow the strongest impact and add long-term value to the OSPO on behalf of the community .
Environmentally, it means depleting as few natural resources as possible, recycling, upcycling, and implementing solar power and off-grid water collection for the post office building.
Culturally, it means building strong relationships and creating community. It means working in accompaniment with neighbors, city residents, organizations, schools, museums, to discover their needs and work in partnership to help meet them. (If you think the OSPOP would make a good partner for something you’re cooking up–we love to collaborate! Please send an email to Executive Director, Jessica Hume, postmistressofsinai@gmail.com).
Phase I June 2025-Late 2026:
The first phase of development focuses on making the building accessible and suitable for our needs. Right now, the post office is stable and dry, but it needs new windows, insulation, solar electricity & lighting, siding, a wheelchair ramp, and a restroom. (Yes, that’s right, the PO currently doesn’t have a restroom. Presumably, it was orginally an outhouse that has since been destroyed).
Completion of Phase 1 allows us to begin scheduling regular open hours for the building. Once we are able to hold regular hours, visitors can view, access, and interact with, post office artifacts & the Compassion Collection, and share their own stories through participation in workshops and events.
This phase will be supported by a combination of state grants, private grants, private donations, and crowdfunding. (Watch for our Kickstarter Campaign, coming soon!)
Phase II Late 2026-2029:
Once the building is in hospitable condition, it can open to the public as a tiny musem and library, during regular, ongoing, weekday hours. Our hope is to create a place in a rural community where all folks feel welcome to visit & share nostalgia, but also share parts of themselves and learn more about others.
In this spirit, we plan to hold “Community Hours,” in which any and all are invited to come enjoy the PO, spend time there, and make use of the Compassion Collection, free of charge.
To support this effort, we envision this space hosting special exhibits, workshops, bourbon tastings, small group gatherings, book discussions, speakers, artistic collaborations, and even overnight guests!
This generative phase also empowers us to foster and grow relationships with donors, grant-making organizations, other non-profits, and local businesses.
Phase III (and Beyond)
When the OSPO is able to sustain regular weekday hours and a stable schedule of in-person and online offerings, it will be ready for a new phase of growth.
By the 2030s, we would like to grow the physical space of the project by adding two (or more!) tiny houses to the property and expanding into use of the garden, small greenhouse, and acreage.
This expansion allows us to host more folks, a wider variety of workshops and events, and retreats. During this phase, one of our major goals is to develop funded opportunities for advocates & creatives from underserved or marginalized groups to spend protected time, engaged with their work.
Watch this space for more updates about Phase III as they’re available!
Learn more about our Fundraising & Kickstarter Campaign, here!
