The relationship between the Orillia Youth Centre and Home Depot has opened many doors for young Orillians, the orange door being among the most meaningful.
Home Depot usually chooses a local organization to be the beneficiary of its Orange Door Project for a period of three years, before selecting a different group for the next three. For the first time, the Orillia store has pledged its support to the same organization, the youth centre, for another three years.
That relationship — which has included annual fundraising as well as donations of products and staff time — ultimately led to the youth centre receiving a $25,000 grant from the Home Depot Canada Foundation.
The west Orillia home improvement store caught the attention of head office two years ago, when it raised $41,000 during the Orange Door Project — the most in Canada.
“It helped show head office that our partnership is that strong,” said Mike Hollmann, Orange Door captain at Home Depot in Orillia.
No doubt the foundation took that into consideration when it announced this week it was granting $25,000 to the youth centre.
“It opens up a lot of opportunities for us when we get a grant like this,” said youth centre director Kevin Gangloff. “People can get really jaded when they hear ‘corporation’ and may not think that’s a lot for a corporation, but this is going to go directly to supporting youth in our community, and that makes a huge impact.”
He said it wouldn’t have been possible without the support of Hollmann, who alerted Gangloff to the grant opportunity, and the rest of the staff at Home Depot. That includes former staff members Patti Brain and David Craig, who helped establish the partnership.
“You have people like Mike who go back and advocate for us. As a youth centre, we’re very humbled by that,” Gangloff said.
While the money is appreciated, the employees have helped the youth centre in other ways. They have volunteered their time to install cupboards at the Front Street facility, refurbish the bathrooms and paint the walls. Home Depot has donated an oven and other items.
“It goes above and beyond handing someone a cheque,” Gangloff said.
But, he was more than happy to receive it as the cash will go toward much-needed programs for youth. There will be an emphasis on “preventive programming,” he noted, which is in line with the Home Depot Canada Foundation’s goal of helping to end youth homelessness and address mental illness.
“If you can support youth ahead of time, they might not get to that crisis point,” Gangloff said.
That’s why the youth centre is much more than a gathering place. It offers activities ranging from yoga and horse therapy to music and arts programs.
“You have to address so many populations of kids,” Gangloff said.
And who better than kids to help do that? In determining what organizations would receive $25,000 grants, the foundation teamed up with the Hamilton-based Street Youth Planning Collaborative’s Youth Leaders Committee, which includes young people who used to be homeless.
“We often tell people what they need, but youth with lived experience know what they need. They know where they struggle, where there are gaps,” Gangloff said.
Hollmann and his Orange Door team are looking forward to continuing what has now become a tradition of supporting Orillia youth.
“It’s the sense of helping the community, and it’s unbelievable what (the youth centre does) for the youth in town,” he said.
Gangloff thanked the company’s staff and other youth centre supporters during an event Wednesday at Home Depot.
