Thanks to the generosity of our community, we have raised over $20,000 in donations since November 1! This means our goal to match a donor grant has been achieved, and this donor will gift Heart to Heart an additional $20,000. We are doubly grateful to all that made contributions toward our goal this year.
Clients will only be allowed to visit Heart to Heart once every 30 days. We are so grateful for the financial and volunteer help that allowed us to lift this restriction during the pandemic. However, with the rising cost of food and supply chain issues, this change will allow Heart to Heart to continue providing service at the level to which our clients expect and deserve. This is a common policy among area pantries in an effort to control costs. Many clients have already been informed of the change and are adjusting accordingly. Paper notices will continue to be provided in their shopping bags through the end of January 2023, at least. Yohan will advise about how to handle clients who arrive before their 30 days are up.
All financial contributions made to Heart to Heart from November 1 through December 31 will be matched up to $20,000. With the increase in both demand and cost of food in recent months, the food pantry needs additional financial resources more than ever. Please know that your doubled donation will be doubly appreciated this year!
For the eighth year running, Jill and Duke Thomas have graciously made this matching pledge to support our mission to respond to God’s commandment to love one another. Heart to Heart began serving the community in 1986, and still exists today thanks to the foundation laid by its task force and early leaders, including Jill. We are eternally grateful for the Thomas family’s ongoing support of our mission.
Donate Now!
Every kid deserves a backpack and a new box of crayons to start the school year. Help us support our Heart to Heart food pantry families by donating new backpacks filled with school supplies to our School Supply Drive during all worship services on Sunday, August 7. Look for marked bins where your donations for kids in kindergarten to high school can be dropped off.
If you are unable to attend services on August 7, supplies can be dropped off in the Crane Welcome Center at South and the Rose Wing lobby at North August 1-5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Our goal is to collect 50 backpacks to distribute to Heart to Heart clients before school starts.
The most requested school supplies across the grades are as follows:
- Crayons
- Glue stick
- #2 Pencils
- Blue or black Pens
- Ruler
- Wide ruled notebook paper
- 4 pocket folders
- 4 spiral notebooks
Please remember that students Kindergarten through High School will be recipients of these donations. The schools we are serving have requested no disinfectant wipes be sent with school supplies this year.
Questions? Please contact Yohan Kim x203
Closed for Client Services
Heart to Heart will be closed for all client service hours and volunteer shifts on the following days. Please plan accordingly.
Independence Day
- Monday, July 3 through Wednesday, July 5
Annual Closure & Labor Day
- Monday, September 4 through Friday, September 8
Election Day
- Tuesday, November 7
Thanksgiving
- Thursday, November 23 through Friday, November 24
Christmas & New Year
- Monday, December 25 through Monday, January 1
Closed for Volunteer Shifts Only
Heart to Heart will be closed in observance of these holidays. The pantry will be closed for volunteer shifts only, as these are not regular client service days.
- Monday, January 2
- Monday, January 16
- Monday, February 20
- Monday, April 10
- Monday, May 29
- Monday, June 19
- Monday, October 9
The Pop-Up Pantry (PUP) volunteer team creates and manages its own working schedule. These closures do not necessarily indicate the days the PUP will or will not be serving. Please contact the PUP team leaders for further information.
Likewise, First Community Church may or may not be operating during these closings. For more information on church closings, visit FCchurch.com
We understand there is growing concern about the rise in COVID cases as Omicron sweeps through our community. We want to remind you of CDC guidelines to protect yourself from this virus. First Community and Heart to Heart have been erring on the side of extreme caution and we ask you to do the same, even though the CDC recommendations have become more lenient. For example,
- If you have any symptoms of any illness, please stay home. As symptoms are varied and numerous, this is the best way to prevent the spread. We would rather work with a skeleton crew than risk anyone contracting the virus. In addition to the COVID virus, this is also best practice for transmission of other viruses, like the flu and common cold.
- If you feel it would be unsafe in any way for you to volunteer, please stay home.
- In order to determine if it’s appropriate for you to volunteer, please use the following guidelines:
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- If you live with someone or have had 15 minutes or more of direct contract with someone in a 24-hour period who has tested positive, please quarantine at home for 5 days. Test yourself or get a PCR test on day 5 and only volunteer if you have a negative test.
- If you test positive and have symptoms of the illness, please isolate for 10 days. At the end of this period, if you still have symptoms and/or continue to test positive, please stay home until these resolve.
When you are volunteering at Heart to Heart,
- Please come to Heart to Heart in the appropriate PPE gear to protect yourself from exposure. If you do not have access to the items you need, please let us know and we will do our best to provide them to you.
- Please wear a mask at all times; including when you are volunteering outside with others. Cloth masks are less effective against this strain than previous strains, so a medical-grade or N95 mask is recommended.
- It is also recommended you wear rubber gloves and protect your eyes with glasses or a face shield. Avoid touching your face with gloved hands.
- Use hand sanitizer upon arrival and departure, and frequently if not wearing gloves.
- Maintain a social distance of six feet from all other individuals, including clients. Only load groceries in clients’ automobile trunks to prevent exposure inside their cars.
- Please get vaccinated, and get your booster shot!
Please visit Columbus Public Health for more information about COVID online, including sites for vaccine clinics and testing.
We understand that these precautions are numerous and sometimes onerous. However, it is in our best interest to keep one another healthy! Please help us to do so by adhering to these recommendations. We pray for your health during this time of uncertainty.
“Jesus said to him… ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets.’” (Matthew 22: 35-40).
Closing Dates
Heart to Heart will be closed in observance of these holidays, and the pantry will be closed for volunteer shifts. These are not regular service days for clients.
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- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (01/17/22)
- President’s Day (02/21/22)
- Good Friday (04/15/22)
- Easter Monday (04/18/22)
- Memorial Day (05/30/22)
- Independence Day (07/04/22)
- Labor Day (09/05/22)
- Indigenous Peoples Day (10/10/22)
- Veterans Day (11/11/22)
Click for full listing
We will be closed for all client service hours and volunteer shifts on the following dates. Please plan accordingly.
Annual Closure
- Monday, September 12 through Friday, September 16, 2022
Thanksgiving
- Thursday, November 25 and Friday, November 25, 2022
Christmas
- Closed December 26 through January 2, 2023
- Thursday, December 22 is the last service day of 2022
- Friday, December 23 is the last volunteer day of 2022
- Tuesday, January 3 is the first volunteer and service day of 2023
Other Closures
Special Events
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, an active thunderstorm, or an official Tornado Warning in our area. 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.
Public Health Alert System Policy
Heart to Heart will make every attempt to remain open during regular business hours, unless Franklin County reaches a level 4 purple alert status. In the event we are closed, we will make note on our voicemail, on our Facebook page and on our webpage.
Thanksgiving
Heart to Heart does not distribute Thanksgiving Baskets in the pantry. Read more>>
Christmas
Announcements will be made regarding our holiday assistance programs in October.
Additional Resources
Please refer to LSS 211 (formerly HandsOn) for additional holiday assistance programs.
by Jill Thomas
It takes multiple moving parts to run our incredible Heart to Heart program -from volunteers, donations of food, toiletries, and paper goods by multiple community organizations, and, of course, money. Every donation received from October 1 through December 31will be matched up to $20,000.
The donors’ strong belief in the scope, direction, and relevance of this ministry is more than reaffirmed by its volunteer coordinator, Yohan Kim- have you met him?. “He is the glue that keeps all of the moving parts running smoothly”, said John McCandless, a most devoted volunteer. And so many parts: from all the generous gifts from our community to all the components within the pantry. There are 180 volunteers who divide and conquer the massive operation which ultimately brings food to our neighbors: picking up contributions, unloading trucks, restocking our pantry shelves, shoppers, produce handlers, and our check-in volunteers. Yohan said, “Sometimes I step back and look at all of our various volunteers, playing their own unique roles. It’s like watching a symphony with all of its different instruments, performing and blending to make the drive-through experience seamless and joy-filled for our neighbors!” Paul Dusseau, a long-time volunteer, talked enthusiastically about Yohan’s superior organizational skills and ability to create camaraderie and a family atmosphere. Paul said… “ he is a beautiful communicator; he is reliable, consistent, affirming and patient.”
As the outreach of Heart to Heart grows to meet the needs of our community, so also does the need for financial support. Remember your gift will be doubled through December 31. This ever-expanding program also needs more volunteers. Would you consider helping out? Abby Black, a sophomore at Upper Arlington High School, is one of our most beloved, devoted, and hard-working participants. She said, “ Yohan connects with and deeply appreciates the volunteers; he makes it fun to be a Heart to Heart volunteer!”
Once again, this year, our much-loved Christmas Presence program has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we have come up with an alternative to enable us to assist client families in need this holiday season.
Groups, families, and individuals are welcome to sponsor a family or families that request holiday assistance this year financially through the purchase of gifts for them. Sponsors will be asked to contact their sponsored family directly to get ideas for Christmas gifts and make arrangements for delivery or pick-up. There will be no suggested expenditures for each family, as we would like sponsors to help in the way they best see fit.
Clients who are in need of assistance this holiday season will be asked to notify Heart to Heart by phone or email to hearttoheart@fcchurch.com. Staff will get contact information and family make-up from the clients and pass the information along to our dedicated volunteer and social worker extraordinaire, Kitty Rohrer. Kitty will then match inquiring families with those looking to sponsor them.
We will accept sponsors until December 15 or until all families are matched! We will continue to accept client families through December 5. After that date, all inquiries, both clients and sponsors, will be referred to other programs by our team of resource volunteers. This small group answers emails and voicemails received through Heart to Heart’s resource line at 614-488-0681 x241. The group is made up of social workers and community advocates familiar with programs available to our clients.
We are eager to help our clients in need, but also cautious about large gatherings as the pandemic continues. We encourage both sponsor and sponsored families to follow appropriate social-distancing guidelines and wear masks, especially if unvaccinated. Hopefully, this effort will prove to be a sufficient alternative to Christmas Presence. We hope to continue the tradition of partnering with the Trading Post again next year!
If you have any questions about the program, please contact us at HearttoHeart@fcchurch.com.
For information about our holiday hours and closings, click here.