Renee Magnuson and Geoff Gifford work on the Heminger House property. Photo provided

By Rusty Nixon Correspondent
PLYMOUTH — The Heminger House in Plymouth has had a facelift as it prepares to open, thanks to volunteers from the CPA firm, Umbaugh.
The facility, which will serve as a women’s and children’s shelter in Plymouth, is projected to open its doors in March, 2008 as a seven-year vision becomes a reality. Umbaugh provided 17 volunteers from its firm to spend a Saturday taking care of some last minute amenities as the house prepares to open.
“We did a lot of the yard work,” said Jill Beam of Umbaugh. “It took a lot of our people most of the day to finish it up.”
The group did some landscaping, laying down mulch and rock, as well as installing the flag pole for the home. Just for good measure the volunteers from the firm cleaned and stocked the kitchen.
The firm took on the project as part of the Indiana CPA Society “Day of Service” project, now in its fifth year. Over 400 volunteers participated from across the state, working at 33 locations in 13 Indiana counties.
“One of the partners in the firm was aware of the need of Heminger House to fix some things up before the opening,” said Beam. “We felt this would be a very good project for us locally.”
Umbaugh was founded in Plymouth in 1950 by Herschell J. Umbaugh and provides independent financial advisory services to local governments. The Plymouth office has 17 employees. The firm’s Indianapolis office also took part in the day of service. “It was a wonderful day,” said Beam. “Some of the members brought their families. Everyone felt like we got a lot accomplished.”
The mission of Heminger House is to provide not only the basic needs of food, shelter and clothing to women and children who are victims of domestic abuse, but also on-going support and a safe environment.
The vision includes working to prevent further violence in families by coordinating with local agencies to help battered women and children obtain therapy, counseling and the general “know how” to get out of their violent situation. Heminger House will house up to six families in private bedrooms and community living areas.
The need is immediate — 40 cases of domestic violence were reported in Marshall County from January to June of 2007 – and it is not unusual that many more cases go unreported.
Heminger House needs donations to provide operational funds for the first year and to pay off construction debt. Tax-deductible donations to the Heminger House can be made at any Centier Bank. 
Questions about Heminger House should be directed to Dean Byers at 574-936-1835.