Due to a lack of funding and being unable to make ends meet, Glowing Hearts Community Give and Get Centre is closing its doors on Bradford Street. Sunday will be the last day of operation.
The non-profit organization was designed to help individuals and families receive basic needs such as clothing, toys, shoes, linens, household items, and hygiene products
Executive director Brenda Richardson told BarrieToday there have been a lot of people coming through the doors at 80 Bradford St., Unit 152, with tears in their eyes.
“It is just really sad, a very sad few days here,” she said. “This will have a huge impact in the community because we get referrals from all over. The Women and Children’s Shelter, The David Busby (Centre), Youth Haven and many more send people our way for assistance.”
Glowing Hearts started when Frank Nelson was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2013.
He wanted to help as many people as he could and created a bucket list to achieve his goals. Through sponsorships and donations, he helped get $1,000 to 43 of the 50 families he was aiming for.
Nelson died in 2017, at the age of 61, but the organization lived on and continued his pay-it-forward mentality.
With 15 volunteers and six board members, Richardson says she feels like the organization’s founder would be “crying in heaven” at the closure.
“I just really feel like a failure, like I’m letting the community down,” Richardson said. “Frank is probably up in heaven right now helping us pray for a miracle.”
That 'miracle' would need to come in the form of financial assistance at a time Richardson acknowledges many people are already facing hardship.
“At one time, we were getting $1,000 a month in help from the community. Last month, it was around $200,” she said. “Everyone is feeling it, I know. But with our costs just to operate being $3,000, it is a huge uphill battle.”
Richardson says the organization applied for help from the Ontario Trillium Benefit, but did not qualify because, despite the application being strong and with no significant weakness identified, the project mandated didn’t directly align with the grant program. They also received government help with rent, but only for the first few months of the pandemic.
“Even though we have had tremendous support from small business and private members from our community, we have had no funding from our city or province and can no longer pay our bills,” Richardson said.
“I know that the community is going to be very upset with this news," she added.
Glowing Hearts is open every day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Sunday, Oct. 4.
