On February 22 of this year, Fanny Hill closed its iconic doors for good. The restaurant and dinner theater had reportedly been losing money for years and continuing the business no longer remained viable. But last week, on December 11, Northwestern Bank of Chippewa Falls gave new life to the building when they donated it to Hope Gospel Mission.

“We thought that Hope Gospel’s need was great, and it was a way for us to help,” said Gerald Jacobson, president of Northwestern Bank. Jacobson values the donation as having a roughly $500,000 value. Hope Gospel’s leadership hasn’t decided yet how they’ll make use of the donation and are evaluating all the options available to them.

Sandi Polzin, Hope Gospel Mission’s executive director, said, “We are very thankful to Jerry Jacobson and Northwestern Bank for this donation. The gift of land will be used for the long-term strategy for the mission to address the growing needs of the homeless and poor of the Chippewa Valley. This donation is an encouraging expression of their concern for our most vulnerable neighbors in the Chippewa Valley and their willingness to partner with us to provide practical solutions.”