Linking Hope creates nonprofit connections to build a better future

Standing atop a plastic chair in a bustling warehouse on the edge of downtown Winnipeg, Breena Courchaine projects her voice to coordinate dozens of volunteers and thank them for the day’s work.

The morning has been a frenzy of piling clothes atop tables, moving donations around the room and finding permanent homes for things at Linking Hope’s new, permanent home.

By 12:30 p.m. Saturday, more than 100 volunteers had moved Linking Hope’s inventory into its new home at 323 Edwin St., across the road from its former space at 190 Disraeli Fwy., and the team was well ahead of schedule — a testament to the organization’s support, staff say.

“We literally could not do this without our volunteers,” Courchaine said. “Every idea that has made this place better is mostly coming from the volunteers.”

After a bite of pizza, the volunteers returned to work sorting clothes, moving pallets of donations around the warehouse and figuring out how best to organize the space.

The move to the new warehouse was a bit hasty: in March the province announced the N’Dinawemak – Our Relatives’ Place emergency shelter would be closed April 1 and transformed into a navigation centre for homeless people.

The non-profit organization, which takes in donations and supplies them to more than 120 agencies across Manitoba, had been located in the building and was suddenly left without a headquarters.

The new warehouse is about the same size as their former space, but having a permanent home presents a future of opportunity to the organization.

A portion of Linking Hope’s warehouse is currently being rented by another company, but come December the lease will be up and the non-profit will take it over to make room for a partnership with United Way.

The pair will run United Way’s Koats for Kids program there, as well as other initiatives.

“It was a ‘meant to be’ moment,” said Kristie Pearson, Linking Hope’s founder. “It was sad because we developed such great relationships with staff at N’Dinawemak but I just know this is a great move for us.”

N’Dinawemak’s original closing date of April 1 was pushed back to allow for better co-ordination among social agencies. Sources previously told the Free Press the province’s announcement didn’t give the city’s organizations enough time to prepare for the closure and relocation of nearly 200 residents.

For Linking Hope, the work they do needed to continue so the organization secured the warehouse on Edwin Street.

Linking Hope takes in surplus stock from retailers like Western Glove Works and Mark’s work apparel company, but also receives returned items from warehouse giant Costco and donations from individuals. From there, the items are sorted by category and displayed for the weekly Wednesday shop, when agencies come in to get their own inventory to give to clients.

They also store large quantities of donations other organizations get but don’t have room for.

The deal not only helps Linking Hope stay connected to all the non-profits in the city, but helps organizations get to know each other, too.

“I feel like our organizations all work separately, and sometimes to our disadvantage,” said Courchaine, who serves as Linking Hope’s agency coordinator. “The business world has councils and everything that keeps them all connected, but the nonprofit world has nothing, so that’s what we try to be.”

By taking care of the donation aspect of non-profit work, volunteers and employees at their respective agencies can also focus on providing services to clients, Courchaine said.

In addition to the new space, Linking Hope has further plans to work with the community by coordinating community walks with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership.

After settling into their new home and getting organized, Linking Hope will resume operations June 3.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca