Christmas with compassion

Volunteers like Nataly Mendonca, Amanda St.Denis and Marialice Pontello provide all the logistics for the shops, from collecting to even serving as personal shoppers to help customers find that special gift. NEIGHBOR UP

Families shop with pride at Gifts from the Heart

Neighbor Up Brevard is one of the founding partners of Gifts from the Heart. Staff include, from left, bookkeeper Gale Babbitt, administrative support Cindy McAlister, executive director LaShaundra McGhee and grant manager Paula Schroeder. TOM WILBY PHOTOS

Gifts from the Heart Christmas Shops have a most eclectic business plan. They open one week each year, and merchandise is discounted 70 to 80 percent. It’s definitely not the way to make a profit, but Gifts from the Heart is not out to make money — it’s out to generate joy and dignity for families in the county’s under-resourced communities.

Founded in 2016 by several charities serving some of the poorest areas on the Space Coast, Gifts from the Heart affirms the premise that parents — even those of very modest means — prefer to provide for their families rather than accept handouts. Gifts from the Heart offers an affordable shopping experience for client families of a coalition of community services and nonprofits. Families with very few resources get a hand up to purchase gifts on their own, instead of receiving handouts from others.

“It is dignity-affirming for these families,” said Cindy McAlister, administrative assistant for Neighbor Up Brevard, one of the partner agencies. “Instead of someone else giving your children gifts, you are the one providing the gifts.”

Neighbor Up serves residents of Melbourne’s Booker T. Washington neighborhood with The Dock, an after-school program for children in a community where parents, many of them single, work multiple jobs to make ends meet. The agency also operates Greater Heights, an affordable apartment complex.

Thousands of children and their families have been served through the program, which relies on the time, talent and treasure of volunteers ranging from individual residents to corporate and church groups.

McAlister from Neighbor Up and Sorensen Moving employee Devin Thompson oversee storage of donations.

POP-UP SHOPS

Friendly volunteers, Cathy Berkman and Linda Sheedy, are all smiles for the customers. NEIGHBOR UP PHOTOS

This year, the shops will pop up at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Indialantic and at the Cocoa offices of Family Promise of Brevard, a partner agency that helps homeless families regain housing.

Additional partners in the coalition include Community of Hope and Healthy Start/Healthy Families. Community of Hope provides transitional housing and life skills for homeless families. Healthy Start/Healthy Families provides education, support and care coordination for pregnant women and families with children up to age 3, with a focus on improving birth outcomes.

Around 350 client families of the coalition partners will participate in the program this year. Each partner agency decides how the program can best benefit its clients. At Neighbor Up, for example, parents or caregivers receive tickets that permit the purchase of up to three toys per child in the family. Children from birth through age 17 are eligible. Stocking stuffers and books are free.

“It’s strictly for the families we serve,” McAlister said.

Primarily through word of mouth, the coalition collects toys and gifts throughout the year, filling the huge storage facility Sorensen Moving & Storage donates to the program.

“We collect year-round,” McAlister said. “It’s amazing the support Sorensen has given us year after year. Our stuff takes up a huge amount of storage. Sorensen stores all the gifts, plus the shelving and other hardware for the shop, and they themselves collect gifts for us.”

Customers select toys for their children at Gifts from the Heart.

OPEN FOR BUSINESS

A new bike will be one very exciting gift for a lucky child. NEIGHBOR UP

On the first Saturday in December, the shops open for business. In a mini version of Black Friday, a line of as many as 50 families is there early to wait for the doors to open. The entire store personnel are composed of volunteers, many from employee groups such as Embraer and Christian Care Ministries, as well as churches, nonprofits and the community at large. Volunteers have stocked the store and will keep shelves filled throughout the week. On Saturday, several volunteers provide free gift wrapping. Volunteers even offer personal shopping services.

“It’s nice to have someone familiar with the shop to help parents with special gifts,” McAlister said. “It’s truly set up like a regular store.”

The shops’ stock offers parents a wide assortment. It’s not surprising that scooters and bikes are always popular, considering that a new $100 bike runs only $20 at Gifts from the Heart. Basketballs, Legos and craft kits are plentiful. For teens, tablets, bath sets, headphones, sewing machines, games and advanced craft sets are hits. Revenue from sales goes straight to purchasing gifts for the following year.

“It’s a lot of fun for the parents to be able to shop for these gifts for their kids,” McAlister said.

UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

In 2021, Shannon and her family were living in a shelter run by one of the coalition partners. Being able to purchase gifts for her children at that very difficult time in her life was unforgettable.

“The shopping experience was wonderful,” she said. “The store was dressed up with Christmas decorations and everybody had Christmas sweaters on. Everyone was so loving and caring.”

Each gift donated to Gifts from the Heart is, in essence, two gifts — the material gift for the child who excitedly opens it on Christmas morning and the “gift of providing” for the parents.

“These families rejoice to be able to go shopping when they haven’t been able to do so before,” Shannon said.

Every year, Tara Pagliarini, executive director of Family Promise of Brevard, witnesses the joy of parents who are struggling with homelessness when they learn they can choose and wrap the very gifts their children had hoped for, and that the gifts have been paid for by their hard work.

“That’s the magic of Gifts from the Heart,” Pagliarini said. 

“It restores dignity, builds confidence and shows what’s possible when nonprofits and generous donors stand together for families.”

Give From The Heart

Gifts from the Heart Christmas Shops always welcome volunteers and donations. The easiest way to give is to access Gifts from the Heart gift registries at Amazon, Walmart and Target at neighborupbrevard.org/gfth. Gifts will be delivered directly to Gifts from the Heart. Tax-deductible monetary donations are also easy to make on the website.

See the original article in print publication