The Moody Foundation has announced a $2 million grant to Galveston Urban Ministries (GUM) to build a nearly 18,000-square-foot retreat and training center on Galveston Island. 

When completed, the center will offer lodging for up to 100 paying, nightly guests year-round and contribute to GUM’s sustainability; serve as a training center for unemployed and underemployed Galvestonians, while creating management, hospitality, tourism, and marketing jobs within the complex itself; and serve as a shelter and resource in times of natural disasters. According to the foundation, 22 percent of Galveston residents live in poverty, a figure that is dramatically higher than the number of people who live below the poverty line in other areas of Texas. 

“While poverty exists throughout the island, the north of Broadway neighborhood in which we live and serve is heavily concentrated with children and adults living in generational poverty,” said GUM executive director Josh Dorrell. “The retreat and training center will provide much-needed services for the people who live and work here, especially in our neighborhood.” 

(Photo Credit: Getty Images/ilbusca)