Barrie Families Unite aiming to meet 'growing need' with winter pop-up shop
A local charity that works to give back in various ways has wrapped up its second annual winter clothing pop-up shop.
Barrie Families Unite spent approximately two weeks collecting gently used winter clothing items from the community. After an outpouring of generosity, receiving everything from coats to snow pants, those items were provided free of charge to those in need.
"Cost of living is through the roof these days, and it's really, really difficult for these lower-income families to find that extra cash to properly outfit their kids for the winter that we live through here in Barrie," says Nikki Glahn, the founder and chair of Barrie Families Unite.
Glahn tells CTV News that over two days of operating outside of Bayfield Mall in Barrie this weekend, approximately 250 households came through, a need that she says has increased from its inaugural pop-up shop last year.
"It's been a mix of people coming through this year," Glahn says. "More seniors than we've seen in the past, a lot of households, a lot of single parents with small kids. Anyone who has kids knows that they grow, so from winter to winter, if you have three or four kids and you need to re-outfit hem with coats and snow pants and boots, it's expensive."
Glahn says her overall goal for the winter pop-up shops is to fill the gaps between services and support other groups offer.
"We see what they are doing, we see what the needs are, and we see where the gaps exist, and this seems to be one of them," Glahn says. "There didn't seem to be an agency out there that to a mass scale was able to provide the service of accumulating donated outerwear, organizing it, getting it set up and giving it out for free."
There are some items left over, which Glahn says will be provided free of charge to other agencies who do provide winter clothing to their clientele. If she finds the needs remain in the middle of the winter, the group will hold another clothing drive and pop-up shop.
In the meantime, Barrie Families Unite is switching gears to providing support for the upcoming holiday season. Glahn says an announcement on its specific projects will be made in the coming weeks.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.