Thrift centre hoping to fund permanent home
With loss of donated space, founder eyes bigger site to continue offering aid
An Edmonton non-profit organization created to provide emergency aid to struggling families is asking for some help to fund a new location for a free thrift store.
The Helping Everyone Access Resources Through Supports Thrift Centre, HEARTS for short, was operating out of a temporary location until the end of May after a December start. The space was initially donated to the group, but an increase in rent and utilities starting in April forced the group to look for another permanent home, founder Teresa Rocque said Thursday.
The task now is gathering about $20,000 to open the doors to a new facility for the non-profit by July 1.
“I found a perfect location. It’s on a bus route and it will give us enough space so we can have more inventory for the families,” Rocque said. “I know that we will easily double the amount of people coming through and the amount of people that we’re going to help.”
The new sought-after home is at St. Albert Trail and 133 Avenue — larger in size than the previous location and close to public transit to allow for easy access.
HEARTS aims to provide free clothing, non-perishable food and other essentials for anyone in need of emergency support. The idea came to Rocque in 2011 while working as a pediatric cardiology nurse at the Stollery Children’s Hospital.
“Dealing with patients’ families, talking about the struggle of having a sick child and not being able to provide for their families in general or their children, so we adopted a family for Christmas,” Rocque said.
There was a clear gap in support for struggling middle-class families in need of a little bit of help with funding basic everyday needs, Rocque said, but that likely wouldn’t qualify for other financial assistance if they have jobs or a home.
“For us, there is no qualifying,” she said. “HEARTS works where we help anybody and everybody. If you say you need help, you can come in.”
During the six months in their first home, the centre provided donated essentials to about 9,000 people in the city.
The centre offerings are all donations from Edmontonians, Rocque said, and social media plays a major role in putting the word out for what is needed and available. Since the closure at the end of May, the generosity of residents has not faded and they continue to receive items for homes that need them.
These donations are being stored in a semi-trailer and many items will be used for a summer garage sale with proceeds going toward the cost of running the new thrift centre.
“No parent should ever have to feel like a failure for not being able to provide basic needs for their child,” said Rocque, who is a grandmother and mother of three. “We have tons and tons of testimonials from people that we’ve changed their life.”
A Go Fund Me campaign was launched last week with a goal of $75,000 with proceeds going toward funding the new location and keeping it up and running for the first few months. They are also currently in the process of applying for several grants, Rocque said, for long-term funding of the centre.