Belknap House donation sparks a matching $25,000 gift, and a challenge

LACONIA — A recent $25,000 donation to Belknap House from the owner of Jersey Mike’s Subs in Tilton has sparked a matching $25,000 gift from Dan Dagesse of Gilford, co-owner of the NuCar dealership chain who is now issuing a challenge for other Lakes Region business owners to give what their hearts dictate.

It’s another game-changing windfall for Belknap House, which provides temporary housing, education and skill-building programs for homeless families with children.

“To me, $25,000 is like a million,” said Belknap House Executive Director Paula Ferenc. “We are so blessed to have this unfolding, and so deeply grateful to Dan and his wife. It’s a gift from the heart that he’s giving to so many people.”

Dagesse said he was in a local hospital receiving blood work when he read The Sun’s Aug. 6 story about Chris Brown of Jersey Mike’s Subs giving money to a program that enables parents experiencing homelessness to find housing and jobs while their children have a stable environment from which to receive supportive services and attend school. Dagesse tore out the article, showed it to his wife, and then the couple went to Belknap House for a tour.

“When you think homelessness, you think San Francisco and drug addicts in tents living out in the open. That’s what you see on television. I don’t think we fully understand the difference between homelessness and people who are addicted,” Dagesse said. The homeless population includes “families having to live on the street with kids and babies.”

At Belknap House, Dagesse saw children outside on the playground and spoke to parents about the 5-year-old program that is now a recognized stepping stone between life without shelter or a physical address and a permanent home.

Dagesse said he was impressed by the families there, and by Belknap House’s modest budget with minimal administrative costs, with much accomplished by volunteers.

“It’s a bare-bones type of thing, but they act as a family. They take turns with chores and laundry and have different shifts” for cooking and eating. During an average stay of five months, families receive coaching on cooking, raising children, finding and keeping a job, securing an apartment and how to be responsible tenants, he said.

“It helps them get their feet on the ground. I wish that all auto dealers and businesses would take the tour that I did.”

He learned that one of the young fathers currently staying at Belknap House works at a NuCar dealership.

“The donation was the easy part,” Dagesse said. “We strongly believe in kids and families.”

Dagesse is now challenging the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce to hold five group tours of Belknap House for a total of roughly 100 chamber members, which will prompt an additional $25,000 donation from Dagesse and his wife. The couple has a long-term goal: build a larger structure similar to Belknap House to satisfy the unmet area demand.

“How big is the problem in the Lakes Region? How many more families are out there? How many rooms do you need? Raising money for this won’t be a problem,” Dagesse said. “The sustainability going forward is what I care about.”

“I would really invite people to take a tour of Belknap House,” said Dagesse, who with his wife walked up to the door last week and asked for a tour unannounced. “It was an eye-opener, and one of the best days of my life. I want to be part of that [effort to house more homeless families here] along with other businesses to make sure this can be a great, supportive effort for these folks. This house is not going to take care of the volume they’ve got.”

This year, Belknap House celebrated its fifth year of operating as a homeless shelter, first as a cold weather-only refuge before expanding two years ago to serve families year-round. Since opening its doors, it has sheltered 86 families and 1,628 people, and provided 11,065 bed-nights for children. Between March and the middle of June, five families at Belknap House found permanent housing, Ferenc said.

She said the Dagesses' donation will help the nonprofit organization act on goals in its strategic plan. It will enhance data gathering on programs for families and enable Belknap House to develop new ones, “strengthening families through skills and education,” she said. The donation will also increase the reserve funds for lean time when grants and donations don’t cover costs.

Dagesse, who grew up in Colebrook, founded a family-owned auto dealership that currently has 26 franchises in five states, including eight or nine in New Hampshire, he said.

“There’s something about reading a local paper in depth,” which caused him to discover Belknap House, he said. “Running a business, I’ve very busy, but I’m glad I did.”

“It’s beautiful when people get that ‘ah-ha’ moment, which happened for Chris [Brown] and Dan,” Ferenc said. As the story reaches more readers online, “It’s going to ripple. It’s helping to cultivate new business partnerships. We provide what children need to survive homelessness. I am so inspired to continue the good work that we do.”