CLEVELAND, Ohio —Jennifer Wilkes was preparing to welcome over 500 women to Journey Church for a women’s conference, when the coronavirus had other plans.
- Cleveland Hope Exchange and Journey Church delivered over 500 meals to local shelters
- The meals were made by Gourmet Guy Cafe in Rocky River
- Cleveland Hope Exchange is a non-profit that combats poverty
“It was such a hard decision to make that choice to cancel the conference. So many women were anticipating and looking forward to that,” said Wilkes.
Preston and Julia Barnes own Gourmet Guy Cafe in Rocky River. Julia is also a member of the church. The cancelation of that conference meant canceling an order of over 500 meals.
"We obviously, as small business owners in the city, are facing a time of uncertainty. But we as people, Matt and Julia, deeply believe in giving back to our community, regardless of what’s happening," said Julia Barnes.
Journey partnered with the Cleveland Hope Exchange and mobilized.
“With all the changes going on in the community with the coronavirus, it’s so encouraging to have a front row seat at seeing people want to bring hope to those in our city who need it most,” said Megan Gallagher, Executive Director of the Cleveland Hope Exchange.
"It was very needed. It was very important. We needed that for the guys with everything that’s going on. So, it’s well needed," said Preston Tyler, a supervisor at 2100 Lakeside Avenue Men’s Shelter.
The crew at Gourmet Guy were happy to help, but also thankful for the volunteers-turned customers in a tough time.
"They stayed, they ate, they took food to go, so not only were we able to truly be a benefit to our community, our business that day was totally supported by our community,” said Barnes.
The Journey Church is proud of all the people who stepped up, and the Hope Exchange is setting up an emergency relief fund.
"To go outside the four walls of the local church, to go outside the convenience of their homes to make a difference in their community — it was the best decision we could have possibly made, and I’m grateful for the community of people that we have to make it happen," said Wilkes.