Fort Worth nonprofit serving teachers, creatives to move to historic property
A Fort Worth nonprofit focused on serving educators and artists through an eco-friendly lens is moving to a historic location that will expand its footprint.
The Welman Project, located at 3950 W. Vickery Blvd., will open its new home next year at the historic Kimbell Milling Co. building at 2109 S. Main St., wedged between the Fairmount neighborhood and I-35W. The last day of operations at the current location is Jan. 31, and the nonprofit plans to reopen at its new location in April after renovation work is completed, said Co-Founders Vanessa Barker and Taylor Willis.
The Welman Project provides free classroom supplies to teachers through donations of surplus materials from local companies. It also offers free professional development classes for teachers, community workshops and a “curiosity shop” open to the public with craft supplies, jewelry and vintage treasures. Currently, the professional development and community workshops share the same space, but they will have their own spots at the new locations that will allow the nonprofit to expand its programming.
A woodshop area and a free community bookstore will be new additions at the space.
“The move is going to be great for the community,” Barker said. “It’s going to be a great community hub, but we’re still the same old Welman. Nothing’s changed about our mission, our joy, our high fives and hugs — we’re just going to be able to spread out and offer more bathrooms. And free books.”
In 2024-25, the Welman Project reached more than 6,000 teachers and saved them an average of $452 on supplies, according to the nonprofit. It also saved 281 dumpsters worth of materials from landfill waste and distributed $2.9 million worth of supplies to schools.
The historic Kimbell Milling Co. building, constructed in the 1930s, is deemed by Historic Fort Worth as an “architectural treasure” once owned by Kay Kimbell, founder of the Kimbell Art Museum, who stored pieces of art at the building. The area that will be occupied by the Welman Project — about 26,500 square feet — is about five times bigger than the nonprofit’s current space.
Barker and Willis noted how they’ll be able to reinvest their time to serving teachers, holding classes and saving materials from landfill waste rather than figuring out current logistical obstacles, such as modifying shared spaces for different programs or figuring out where to store an overflow of donated materials.
“Right now, companies will have 10 pallets of stuff they want to give us. That is incredible. Teachers would love to have it, but it’s such a difficult logistic situation for us to figure out how to even take one pallet into our current space. So here we’ll be able to receive those goods and get them available to teachers right away,” Willis said.
Jerre Tracy, executive director of Historic Fort Worth, said she toured the property with city officials while it was on the brink of being demolished and before it was sold to its current owner, Bruce Conti. She’s thrilled to see the space being preserved through the Welman Project’s mission.
“Kay Kimbell’s executive office was still visible and intact, and it was thrilling to see that he kind of masterminded his plans for the Kimbell Art Museum in this space. So the fact that the Welman project has it is, to me personally, just icing on the cake,” Tracy said.
North Texas educators who work with the Welman Project and utilize the nonprofit as a resource say they’re eager to see the expansion plans come forward.
Marianne Eckley, past president of the Association of Texas Professional Educators’ Region 11 chapter, said she loves the Welman Project’s current location, but it’s a tight space for educators to shop in. She’s glad to see the nonprofit will have more room to serve more teachers.
Eckley and her Region 11 colleagues donate $300 to the nonprofit each year and provide their own classroom supplies donations as well, she said. Region 11 represents 14 local school districts.
“I’m also happy that they are getting so large that they can help so many more people,” Eckley said. “Now, maybe more people will be able to shop at a time… I’m very excited. And they can house more stuff that they’ve gathered.”
Steven Poole, executive director of the United Educators Association, echoed Eckley’s thoughts on the move.
“The Welman Project is a fantastic organization that has provided classroom supplies to thousands of teachers. It is exciting that they needed to move to a larger space to keep pace with all the work they do. I know educators from all across the Metroplex are looking forward to what comes next at the Welman Project,” he said.
Community members can get updates on the Welman Project’s move through its newsletter list here.
