Heart to Heart

Monthly Update

by Yohan Kim

HEART TO HEART FOOD PANTRY MANAGER

Our new year has been off to a great start. We’ve had great turnout during what is typically a slower time of year for volunteering. There are also growing collaborations, with new and continuing partnerships, such as Semester of Service at OSU. All of that has supported our work, which has fed 158 households through our Pop-Up Pantry and 470 in our Drive-Thru in January, as of this writing. And last year, our Drive-Thru had 4,714 visits, including 937 new families, while our Pop-Up Pantry served 2,364. It’s amazing to see that we’re off to such a smooth start to continuing our work for all we serve.

We had some notable donations this month, beginning with the Hair Care Drive at First Community. All of the shampoo and conditioner we received was given out over the course of 2 weeks. Our friends at Our Lady of Victory also donated 239 lbs. of dry goods. Their goal is always to exceed 200 when collecting for their monthly drive supporting our pantry. A new partnership with CHOP5 was also finalized, in which they donate produce from one of their suppliers. The first batch included 290 lbs. of apples, bananas, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. Last but not least, it behooves me to note that the Heart to Heart Club at Upper Arlington High School donated 3,200 lbs. of food and toiletries right before Christmas!

Looking ahead, we are excited for the work of this year’s Ministry Team: Andrea Keil, Carolyn Barger, David Westman, and Kevin Orsini. Together, we’ll be working on training, leadership, events, a volunteer handbook, and more. There will also be a Volunteer Appreciation & Award Ceremony on Tuesday, February 6, at 6:00 pm in Grace Hall at First Community North. RSVP required!

At the last Missions All Team Meeting, it was evident how much great and gracious work is afoot at First Community. What stood out was just how interconnected our groups are, supporting each other in various ways. We often give plastic bags to the Mat Makers, who create wonderful mats out of them. The Share & Learn Garden provides us with produce, much to the delight of our neighbors, as attested to by Charlie Jacob’s anecdote. Monday Night Meals not only supports the people they serve, but also shares bread with us. There’s also the great work of the Trading Post, and the list goes on and on. It’s a pretty cool sight to behold. 

February 19

We have adjusted our Holiday Closure calendar for 2024. Please click the image above to access the revised list PDF. Our next day closed is February 19, in observance of President's Day.

Inclement Weather Policy

Heart to Heart will make every attempt to remain open during regular business hours unless there is a Level 2 Snow Emergency in Franklin County. In the event we are closed, we will make note on our voicemail, on our Facebook page and here on our webpage. Volunteers for the day will be notified via email as soon as a decision to close has been made.

Monthly Update

by Beth Hanson

TRADING POST VOLUNTEER TEAM LEAD

The 2023 Trading Post earnings report is finally completed, and we are thrilled to report that last year we raised a whopping $125,133!  (In 2022 we raised $112,435.) 87% of this was raised in the shop, and the rest was raised from a combination of cash donations, eBay sales, sale of items on consignment, and even recycling of metal. We believe that every penny counts!  

Each year, it seems that we become more popular and well-known. For one thing, the winds have been in our favor since thrifting is making a comeback in this age of heightened environmental consciousness and the three R’s (reuse, reduce, recycle). Textile waste has become a pressing environmental concern as the textile industry is one of the largest polluters globally, contributing to carbon emissions, water pollution, and overflowing landfills. So this makes thrifting compelling, but why do people specifically make the trip to the Trading Post with all of the other thrift shops out there? We think the ingredients to our popularity include:

1. Our SUPER welcoming, helpful, kind and cheerful volunteers
2. The charm, aesthetic appeal, and cleanliness of our shop
3. Our well-organized, clean and beautifully displayed merchandise
4. Prices that can’t be beat at any other thrift shop
5. The amazing variety, quantity and quality of donations dropped off to us almost daily, so our merchandise never gets stale  
6. The added impetus of people finding it gratifying to spend their money in ways that will directly help those in need
7. And last, but not least, the entrancing ‘60’s music we play! I think it has the same effect as a snake charmer once people walk into the shop and get in the groove!

Donations and sales have been robust in January, so it looks like it is going to be another fruitful year! Please consider donating your unwanted things to us, and while you are here, come down and see what you’ve been missing. Donations (for any season) may be dropped off on the first floor of the Annex Building on the days we are open, or the donation drop-off box in the Coat Room at First Community South.  We are located in the basement of the Annex Building at South Campus, and we are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and the first Saturday of the month from 10 am to 4 pm.

by Amy Caskie

DIRECTOR OF MISSIONS

Last week we got some unfortunate news from our long-time Mission Partner. Below is an excerpt of my email from Tracee Laing, founding director of Healing Art Missions.

I would like to personally update you on some of the challenges we are facing in Haiti right now. Throughout 2023, we kept hoping and planning for the tide to turn and life to improve in Haiti, but violence and uncertainty have continued to escalate. Multiple violent gangs are battling for control of the country. After we were run out of our clinic in Dumay by a complicated convergence of the police and gangs, the clinic was being staffed by Medicine San Frontiers. The area is now controlled by such violent gangsters that we don’t know the status of the clinic buildings. After leaving Dumay, our medical teams have been staffing hospitals in the Grand Sud Region of Haiti, offering surgical, and safe birthing care since fall of 2022. Staff have been flown to work to keep them out of harm’s way on dangerous, gang-controlled roads. There are now very few safe havens, and those currently considered safe are at risk each day of falling under gang control. Just this week, gangs took control of the Solino neighborhood where many Haitian police lived, killing anyone in their way. It’s all pretty horrific.

We are making some major changes to HAM that I want to let you know about. 

The resources needed to keep our mobile medical teams safely working under these conditions have become cost prohibitive; especially while, globally, foundations and individuals are cutting support to Haiti. This has all just come to a head in the past couple of months; historically, our biggest fundraising time of the year. In 2023 we fell far short of the funds needed to fund our current programing. We had been hoping the UN would help stabilize the country in 2023, creating a higher level of security, but that didn’t happen and it realistically appears that nothing is going to happen any time soon. 

As a result, we need to hibernate our most costly programs, our medical programs, in order to preserve HAM for the long term. We will continue to fund the school in Port de Paix and pay the clean water and community health workers in the Demier Mountain community, while we put our surgical, primary care and safe birthing programs on hold for the time being. 

It appears that Dr Jacques will soon need to get out of the country for security reasons. He is looking ahead toward a Global Health advanced degree and has applied to several, including programs at Harvard, and Oxford. He will remain our Haiti Director and will work toward gaining institutional support for HAMs medical work in Haiti if/when the country stabilizes. He plans to continue to travel to and work in Haiti off and on while getting his advanced degree. Connie, our Executive Director, will remain our Executive Director but move to part-time instead of her current full-time position. We have not changed our leadership team, just shifted their responsibilities while adjusting programs to fit our income and keep our team safe. I am grateful to Connie and Jacques for their commitment and dedication to HAM and the people of Haiti.

We communicate regularly with other NGO’s working in Haiti as our current situation has been shared by all organizations working there. We have been able to persevere for longer than most. Many programs have shuttered due to safety issues, lack of funds, loss of staff, and inability to obtain supplies, but we continue to support each other’s work when we can.

Healing Art Missions will continue our commitment to the people of Haiti as we right size our operations for our reduced income and resources, while keeping our team safe. We hope you will continue to support our efforts as we continue to do our best to provide hope in Haiti.

With Gratitude,

Tracee

While this news is disappointing, we certainly understand that the safety of the staff and volunteers is of utmost importance. We will to continue supporting the mission as much as possible, and hope they can return to serving the wider community in the future. Please keep the staff and volunteers, and all of Haiti, in your prayers for peace and justice.

A Standing Invitation