Immerse Arkansas receives $300,000 grant from Sunderland Foundation

Immerse Arkansas, a Little Rock-based nonprofit organization that provides resources and services to youth in crisis, received a $300,000 grant from the Sunderland Foundation.

The gift will help fund the renovation and build-out of Immerse Arkansas’ Overcomer Central building that serves as the main hub for the youth the nonprofit serves. A portion of the grant will also help provide furnishings for the new space.

Overcomer Central, also known as the “OC,” is being transformed from an open warehouse space to a building with dedicated areas where youth from crisis have access to support such as a hot meal, a kitchen, shower and laundry facilities, life skills classes, computers, mail, case management and Life Base coaches, among others.

“We are extremely grateful to the Sunderland Foundation for this generous gift that will serve as an investment in every young man or woman who walks through our doors to receive youth-centered support,” said Eric Gilmore, co-founder and executive director of Immerse Arkansas. “It’s our goal for this space to communicate to youth that they are wanted and expected here and that we are equipped and ready to serve them in the areas in which they need our support. This donation will help us complete this project, so many of our youth will soon benefit from this new OC.”

“Immerse Arkansas’ mission and its expansion of Overcomer Central align perfectly with our giving priorities, so we are glad to contribute to their critical work of supporting and guiding young people who are finding their way out of various crises,” said President and COO Randy Vance of the Sunderland Foundation. “When we invest in our children, we are investing in the future of our communities, in so many ways. We appreciate the work Immerse Arkansas is doing and we wish them, and the youth they serve, continued success.”

In 2020, Immerse served 201 young people through the OC. Through the benefits of an improved space, the nonprofit anticipates it will serve 250 youth in 2021 and will increase that number annually.

The construction and renovation of the OC began in October 2020 and is projected to be complete by May 31 of this year.