Heartwood gets a Sustainability Boost on 10th Anniversary thanks to $144,000 OTF Grant

From left to right: François Bosse from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Barb Merriam – Heartwood House Board Chair,  Nick Lepan – Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ottawa – Board Chair, and Amanda Jackson – Community Outreach Coordinator from MPP Collard’s office.

Board representatives from the Heartwood House board and the UUFO board.

On November 9 2023 Amanda Jackson, the Community Outreach Coordinator from MPP Lucille Collard’s office, joined Heartwood House and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ottawa to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Heartwood House and to recognize the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) for a $144,000 Capital grant.

“Congratulations to Heartwood House on your recent grant of $144,000. This investment by the Ontario Trillium Foundation to replace the largest section of roof in the hub of supportive services is great news for many in our community,” said MPP Lucille Collard for Ottawa—Vanier. “There are 22 small charitable and non-profit organizations in Vanier who all work together and welcome residents, providing services to those most in need. This new roof will help to sustain the building for years to come.”

The grant was used to used to replace the oldest section the roof, which will allow member organizations to continue using the building to provide services to those most in need. The project was completed in July 2023. The sustainability impact is significant, ensuring affordable, welcoming space for 22 small charitable organizations to provide important services to people in the Vanier and greater Ottawa community for years to come.

"The impact of this Ontario Trillium Foundation grant is significant,” said Barbara Merriam, Chair of Heartwood House’s Board of Directors and we thank François Bosse from the Ontario Trillium Foundation for being with us today for this important celebration. This grant has allowed us to replace the largest section of our roof, significantly contributing to our long-term sustainability as owners of our property. We also want to congratulate the Ontario Trillium Foundation on over 40 years of providing support to community groups across the province as a means of building healthy and vibrant communities.”

Heartwood House is home to 22 small charitable and non-profit organizations who believe in the benefits of working better together under one roof, in a mutually supportive, hospitable, and empowering environment for the benefit of their clients and participants. Heartwood House is committed to supporting charitable organizations to maximize their potential through collaborative opportunities and the development of formal and informal partnerships.

The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

Our Executive Director, Maureen Moloughney, featured in ALSO's newsletter!

$20,000 raised at Heartwood's Fourth Annual Charity Golf Tournament!

Celebrating Heartwood and the UUFO Community

I am still riding high from the joint UUFO and Heartwood House potluck lunch that took place yesterday.

The food was delicious and plentiful, the conversations were lively and there seemed to be many new connections being made.

Thank you to the over 60 people who attended!! The partnership between Heartwood House and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ottawa is very unique and definitely a relationship to honour and celebrate.

It was also an opportunity to celebrate all the incredible work that each of our organizations have contributed to the broader Ottawa community by providing excellent service to those in need.

There were a great many hands who contributed to this event and I thank each and every one of you! A special thank you to Katie from UUFO for co-organizing this event.

Have a great summer everyone!!

Jen Hubbard

Collecting used electronics for Heartwood House

Many thanks to the students from Glebe Collegiate and Catherine McKenna for organizing a used electronics drive on Saturday June 3rd, in support of Heartwood House. The event was a great success filling RD Long’s truck with used electronics. We are very grateful to the residents of the Glebe community for their donations as we raise funds for Heartwood House with the parts and metals recycled from these donations.

Heartwood House and RD Long Computers have partnered together in the Everybody Wins! Electronics Recycling Program since 2006, and as members of the Ontario Electronics Stewardship Program ensuring proper processing of materials.

Grand success thanks to Grand efforts!

Thank you so much to everyone for the success of the May 2nd Valuables and Specialty Items Sale. $5,855 was raised to support Heartwood House, in just one hour and thirty minutes!

As you may know, Heartwood House is testing a new sale plan through the Heartwood Community Gift and Thrift shop.  We are very grateful to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for its support and we look forward to more news about Thrift Shop developments.

In the meantime, the Community Gift and Thrift shop will continue its every second week sale on Thursday May 18th from 12:00 to 2:00 pm in the main level HH Hub. The sale provides a grand opportunity to scoop up steal deals on unclaimed general items and specialty donations from the Heartwood community.

With growing demand for steal deals in the shop, Georgia is looking for donations of spring and summer clothing in excellent condition and miscellaneous items in excellent condition – no dishes please. Drop off donations at the Heartwood reception desk.

Mark your calendars as the next Valuables and Specialty Items Sale will be held on Saturday October 21st from 12:00 to 2:00 pm.

Special thanks to our volunteers: Christine from ADAO,  Lynn and Tim from ALSO, Lucy from CLC, Lucie from ELTOC, Claudine and Steve from JOCA, Barb and Hoppy from Heartwood, Kelly, Lindsay and Emily from Options Bytown, Jean and Vera Lynn from OVWSG, Lee, Mirna, Rita, Jean from our amazing Heartwood Reception staff, and Georgia our sale coordinator and her planning committee members, Kate, Abbie, Jen and Moe.  Without your support and planning the sale simply couldn’t happen. You are the best!

And a huge thanks to the 96 shoppers who scooped up the deals, and to Dennis our electronics expert and Rideau Cellphones for their support.

Watch for promotions of sales on the Heartwood House website.

Heartwood Gift and Thrift Shop!

The Heartwood Community Gift and Thrift Shop is open every second Thursday from 12:00 to 2:00 pm. The sale takes place in the main level Heartwood Hub, just to the left of the Heartwood reception desk. We accept cash, debit or credit. There are fantastic bargains on quality unclaimed general and specialty gift items. Prices range from $1 to $10 on general items. Hope to see you there! For more information contact Georgia at 613-241-5937.

La Boutique d’occasion de la communauté Heartwood est ouvert à chaque deuxième jeudi de 12 h à 14 h. La vente a lieu au Heartwood Hub du niveau principale, à gauche de la réception. Nous acceptons les paiements par argent comptant, par crédit, ou par débit. Il y a des aubaines fantastiques sur des objets non-reclamés de qualité. Les prix sont entre 1 $ et 10 $ pour les articles généraux. Nous espérons vous voir à la vente! Pour de plus amples informations, contactez Georgia au 613-241-5937.

Third Annual Charity Golf Tournament Raises $22,000!

Community Bond Opportunity 2022

Do you believe in social investment?

Here’s an opportunity to invest in Heartwood's Community Bonds. You can financially assist Heartwood House, and benefit from your financial assistance at the same time.

What is a Community Bond?

A Community Bond is an interest-bearing loan that allows a charity to leverage its community of supporters in the development of its mission, and assists the charity in its efforts to build financial independence. Your investment earns you an annual return, and has a social impact.

The annual interest rate for Heartwood House Community Bonds is 4%. Bonds are in amounts of $5,000 and $10,000 and the bond term is 5 years.

If you are interested in supporting Heartwood House by securing a Community Bond, please complete the Loan Intent Form and return it to Maureen (Moe) Moloughney at moe@heartwoodhouse.ca or mail to Heartwood House, 404 McArthur Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario K1K 1G8.

For further information contact Maureen (Moe) Moloughney – Executive Director of Heartwood House at moe@heartwoodhouse.ca or by phone at 613-862-5845.

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A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in our Second Annual Charity Golf Tournament

Everybody Wins! Electronics Recycling

Do you have electronic items that you want to say goodbye to?  If you do, Heartwood House collects donations of old computer equipment and other electronic waste.

These items are inspected for usability by RD Long Computers, our recycling partner, and returned to service whenever possible. Items that are not reusable are handled under the Ontario Electronics Stewardship Program ensuring downstream accountability and proper processes of materials. The compensation to Heartwood is used in support of the vital work of our community of charitable organizations. The Ottawa community wins by ensuring these items - some of which are harmful to the environment - do not end up in the landfill.  Call us at 613-241-5937 to make an appointment to drop off your electronic items!

Thank you 100MenWhoCare!

Heartwood House thanks 100MenWhoCare for the opportunity to speak at its meeting on February 9, 2021 and the donation of $2,825 to Heartwood House. We are very grateful to this wonderful group of men who are dedicated to supporting local charities.

Charity Golf Tournament a Huge Success!

The Heartwood House Charity Golf Tournament was held on Friday September 11, 2020. The event raised an amazing $20,125 thanks to the efforts of our volunteers, the support of our sponsors and the wonderful spirit of the golfers who participated in the event. The tournament was held with a high degree of focus on COVID-19 safety measures which resulted in a totally different approach to the tournament, and we are absolutely thrilled and grateful for the results. We look forward to seeing everyone again next year!

Something for everyone at the OC Transpo Unclaimed Items Sale

Volunteers from the Jamaican Association rocking the bargains at our November 2019 Sale!

People carry the craziest things onto the bus or train, and the OC Transpo Sale of Unclaimed Items is the perfect chance to see exactly what gets left behind: a stop sign, yoga mats, a wheelchair, suitcases, skateboards, cellphones, jewellery, clothing of every kind, umbrellas, books, shoes, winter wear and an interesting variety of miscellaneous items.

The twice-yearly sale is a bargain hunter's dream and it's wonderful to see the shoes, backpacks and lunch kits, all priced from $2 - $5, all sold out within the first hour. It's an excellent outcome as these items are recycled and put to good use by their new owners.

Heartwood is very grateful to the 43 volunteers from our Member Groups who gave their time and survived the sale mania. Thanks to their efforts, Heartwood raised $10,700 to support their goal of providing a home to 20 small charities. Heartwood has administered the OC Transpo Lost and Found for the past 18 years. Our priority is to reunite lost items with their owners, and items unclaimed go into our two sales, the first Saturday of May and November. Everybody wins at the Unclaimed Items Sale!

Our turn to swing! Heartwood takes on the MetLife Golf Tournament

Heartwood board member Tanya Wayne and METLife Alumnus Keith Shea

The moment you meet Keith Shea and the members of his organizing committee, you have no doubt in their ability to coordinate a fun-filled golf fundraising tournament! They have done it for eighteen years and have raised $212,000 for local charities.

It was after a speech at the 100 Men Who Care’s meeting in February 2017 that Moe, Heartwood’s Executive Director, first met Keith Shea. Two months later Keith called to invite Heartwood House to be one of the recipient charities for the 2017 MetLife Alumni Golf Tournament. Since then, Heartwood has raised a total of $27,000 from sponsorships and proceeds to support Heartwood House.  
Earlier this year, the MetLife Coordinating Committee decided to retire from this very successful fundraising event. And to Heartwood’s surprise, they offered Heartwood House the opportunity to take over the tournament, with the added benefit of Keith Shea’s support for the transition in managing the tournament.

Heartwood is thrilled to be given this opportunity as the organizational components of the tournament are still in place, including the bank of golfers who are ready to step back into the golf battle on September 11, 2020.

Many thanks to Keith Shea and everyone from the MetLife Alumni for this wonderful gift. We have big shoes to fill and we promise to do our best to make you proud!

The Community Laundry Co-op celebrates its 20th Anniversary!

CLC Board Chair Marg Fallis and Program Coordinator Yaneth Molano celebrating 20 years!

A laundry with benefits -- that might be the way to describe the Community Laundry Co-op (CLC). For twenty years, people have been coming to the Co-op for affordable laundry but staying as part of the friendly Co-op community for informal counselling and referrals, social activities and friendships, job preparation through the Contract Laundry Service Social Enterprise, and the opportunity to contribute to the Co-op community however they can.

Being located in the spacious, welcoming Heartwood facility offers lots of “benefits” — a safe, easily accessible location, where right in the same building other groups provide free services such as tutoring in literacy and English language, sewing classes, childcare, and supports needed by new immigrants and refugees.

Marg Fallis, current chair of the Co-op’s board of directors, explains what it has meant to CLC to belong to the Heartwood community of organizations. “To begin with, it’s being together with other like-minded groups that understand the challenges facing small, not-for-profit organizations. Next, it has been the comfort of knowing Heartwood's management understands our needs and has accommodated us from the start. We have always been well supported by Moe Moloughney, Heartwood’s Executive Director, and the Heartwood board.”

And how does CLC itself benefit by membership in the Heartwood community? According to Marg Fallis, a big plus is the opportunity for collaboration with other groups. “Aside from affordable rent, the mutual support and accommodation of member groups are the main benefits of membership at Heartwood House.” Groups can learn from each other, form partnerships to maximize resources, apply for grants, build social enterprises and even expand the services they offer the public. Heartwood’s member meetings encourage the groups to understand and support each other’s mandates. 

Congratulations to the Community Laundry Co-op for filling a great need in the Ottawa community for 20 years. Heartwood House is proud to have the CLC as a member!

The Sisters of Charity -- A Legacy of Giving to the Community

Many Heartwooders know Sister Huguette Raby as a long time volunteer of the Community Laundry Co-op, one of Heartwood's member groups. She has also been a long time volunteer for Heartwood House, whether it's teaching Moe and others to speak French or working at our Unclaimed Items sales. Sr. Huguette is always ready to help.

Sr. Huguette is a member of the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa who have been outstanding leaders in the Ottawa community since 1845 with the opening of the General Hospital.  Their legacy of responding to the needs of the most vulnerable includes opening the Élisabeth Bruyère School of Social Innovation at St. Paul University in 2017, a program that focuses on the development of solutions to such social needs as housing, health, fighting poverty, exclusion and discrimination.

Heartwood is very grateful to the Sisters who have supported Heartwood House since 2001 in our mission to serve the residents of Ottawa who are marginalized, living in poverty, and/or in need of educational, mental health, emotional, physical, economic, employment, training or recreational support. The Sisters' support was instrumental to the renovation of the phase three section of our building where eleven of our member groups are located. Their continued support helps Heartwood continue its efforts to support our community of 20 charities and non-profits to be better together under one roof.

Thank you to the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa for your continued service to the residents of Ottawa and for your support of Heartwood House.

Héritage durable des Sœurs de la Charité d’Ottawa

Depuis 20 ans Sœur Huguette Raby, est connue comme bénévole assidue à la coopérative de buanderie de HH. D’une grande disponibilité, elle est toujours prête à rendre service comme interprète, présence active à la vente d’objets perdus d’OC Transpo, habile et tenace coach d’apprentissage du français pour Moe et son équipe qui font des progrès marqués dans la langue de Molière.

Sr Huguette est Sœur de la Charité d’Ottawa, congrégation religieuse bien connue depuis sa fondation à Bytown en 1845, par l’ouverture du premier Hôpital Général d’Ottawa et ses œuvres caritatives dans notre milieu. Parmi les œuvres léguées qui répondent aux besoins des plus vulnérables, soulignons l’ouverture de l’École d’innovation sociale Élisabeth Bruyère, à l’Université Saint-Paul en 2017, la première école d’innovation sociale au Canada. L’objectif de ce programme est d’élaborer des solutions aux besoins sociaux dans divers secteurs tels, logement, santé et la lutte contre la pauvreté, l’exclusion et la discrimination.

Depuis sa fondation en 2001, Heartwood House répond aux divers besoins des résidents marginalisés d’Ottawa qui vivent dans une grande pauvreté à divers niveaux ; intégration sociale, logement, autonomie financière, éducation, santé physique et mentale. La générosité des Sœurs de la Charité d’Ottawa nous a permis de rénover et d’aménager la troisième section de l’édifice où sont maintenant logés onze de nos organismes. L’appui des Sœurs de la Charité d’Ottawa nous permet de poursuivre ensemble, sous un même toit, le développement des vingt organismes à but non lucratif de Heartwood House.
 

Remembering a special Heartwooder

Mary Morrison -- her impact on OVWSG and Heartwood House

One of Moe's favourite Heartwood memories is her good chats with Mary Morrison. Their meetings always began with some scheme Mary had for the Ottawa Valley Weavers and Spinners' Guild. Talk soon shifted, amid much laughter, to this and that. Mary was a wonderful Heartwooder: kind, giving, and always ready to help. Time with Mary was time well spent with someone very special.

Sadly, Mary passed away in February 2019. At her Service of Remembrance, her friends' eulogy included her love of OVWSG as her creative home, and Heartwood as it matched the values she lived by: integrity, ingenuity, generosity and a broad world view.

Mary invested in a community bond in 2012 to support Heartwood House with the purchase of our building. Mary's family recently donated the bond to Heartwood House this year. We will never forget Mary and her kindness to all she met. A true Heartwooder!

MetLife Alumni Golf Tournament 2019

Heartwood’s Golf Team wins again!

Congratulations to Heartwood’s Golf team for winning top prize at the MetLife Alumni Golf Tournament held Friday September 13th at the Pineview Golf Course. Our top team (from left to right ) of Wayne Moloughney, Peter Rivet, Chris Johnson and Brian Johnson won the tournament with an impressive score of -7!

Better Together

Many thanks to Keith Shea and all the organizers of the MetLife Alumni Golf Tournament. The event raised $20,000 to support the work of Stride-Wheelchairs Plus, Heartwood House, Ottawa Mission and the Elizabeth Fry Society. Heartwood is very grateful for the support.