Gifts from the Heart moving to larger location to meet growing need for support
Charity serves 1,600 families on P.E.I., founder says
A P.E.I. charity says it is thrilled to have a new space to help more people.
Gifts from the Heart helps low-income Islanders with essentials such as clothes and food.
The charity currently operates on Spring Lane in Charlottetown, but a new location that is double in size will open later this fall on Maple Hill Avenue near the airport.
Betty Begg-Brooks, the charity's founder and president, said they have been needing to move for three years now to serve their clientele of nearly 1,600 families — with up to seven new families seeking help every week.
"It will make a great difference where we put our food hampers together, where we do our sorting for safety, for the volunteers just to have more room. It's real. We'll have offices and privacy and just things that I've been looking for, for the volunteers and for the clients."
Gifts from the Heart also plans to start operating community fridges at the new location, as well as in West Royalty and Stratford.
The new Maple Hill space will be leased to Gifts from the Heart for 10 years.
The landlords, the Gray Group, will be updating the building with more storage space and room for clients and volunteers.
With files from Laura Meader