A lot of community good has come out of one Barrie community Facebook group.
Most recently, an idea by local business owner Laurey Fawcett and her son, Jake, has flourished in the Barrie Families Unite (BFU) Facebook group, of creating breakfast boxes to donate to families in need to help them get through Mother’s Day.
“I was scrolling through Facebook and I was seeing the number of kids who were dependant on breakfast programs at schools. There are also so many small businesses that are suffering right now. Ourselves, as a small business we’re going through it, too,” Fawcett told BarrieToday.
As Fawcett and her son own Oxford Learning Barrie South, they are attune to the struggles of the small business owner as the community grapples with COVID-19.
“I was thinking about trying to find a way to combine support of small businesses and trying to fulfill a community need at the same time, especially for kids,” she said.
The seed was planted and the idea expanded to creating breakfast boxes filled with 12 eggs, bacon or sausage, pancake mix, seasonal berries, bread, maple syrup, jam and butter from Hewitts Farm Market in Severn Township. Businesses or individuals could choose to sponsor as many boxes as they like, and the boxes will be donated to a local family in need for Mother’s Day.
“If it can give a little bit of joy and take away a little bit of the stress, even for a few hours, or make a child smile, then it’s worth it for me,” said Fawcett.
Fawcett decided she and her son would donate 10 boxes to get the ball rolling, and put a challenge out to other local businesses to do the same, if they were able.
She reached out to Nikki Glahn, one of the administrators on the Barrie Families Unite Facebook page, to see if she could help flesh the idea out.
“It was such a lovely idea, and by the next morning I asked if I could call her as I envisioned expanding this idea and offering it up to our entire BFU community,” said Glahn.
Glahn contacted local service agencies to ask them if they could help identify recipients that are in need. After making arrangements with Hewitts Farm Market, she challenged members of the Facebook community to purchase boxes, too.
“I just knew our amazing group of BFU members would jump in and support this idea by individually purchasing extra boxes to further share this love,” said Glahn. “And who knows, maybe there will be a business out there that will take up Laurey and Jake's challenge to match their donation.
“Laurey has a huge heart and has put something beautiful into motion,” she added.
Fawcett is overwhelmed by the support she’s received for her idea online.
“It makes me feel really good! It’s like throwing a pebble in the pond and seeing the ripples come out from it,” she said. “This is great to do for Mother’s Day, but it doesn’t have to stop there. I would like to keep this going.”
The cost to sponsor a box is $45, and Mother’s Day orders are due to Hewitts by Tuesday at noon to be included in distribution. If you’re interested in participating in the challenge to sponsor a box, contact Hewitts Farm Market at 705 325-3000 and ask to sponsor a Barrie Families Unite Breakfast Box.
