PETERSBURG, Va. -- The public has met its goal so that a mystery donor will match donations for Petersburg’s privately run men’s cold weather shelter.
Pat Hines, who works for the Petersburg Center For Development, said she was “happy and “thrilled” by the news.
She has run the 2024 shelter on South Dunlop Street for three years to get homeless men out of the frigid weather.
In just two weeks the $5,000 in donations needed by Oct. 31 to be matched by the donor has been met. That means the shelter has $10,000 for operations.
“We’ve exceeded our goal,” Hines said. “We have 10 weeks of staff and utilities.”
Hines said that after her story about the shelter aired on CBS 6 that “people just started giving.”
And while a few big checks came in, Hines was “very impressed with just the little donations."
“They mean a lot, $10, $20, $50,” Hines said. “It’s just been heartwarming.”
Then there were the much-needed donations of items like paper plates, silverware and napkins.
Volunteer Mike Shipley with Beacon of Light Church pointed to gallons of paint that were also donated.
“We are about to paint in here,” he said. “Yes, it all needs to be refreshed.”
The church lets Hines share the space with the shelter with the church helping to update the building.
“We’re trying to cater to the community as a whole,” Shipley explained. “One as a shelter, as you know, taking care of the homeless in the evenings, and providing meals for them but also as a church we operate.”
WATCH: There are no homeless shelters for men in Petersburg. She's working to change that
The shelter will open Friday, Nov. 15, and will likely stay open through March.
“There will be some more partitions across here, because the homeless will stay more than one night and they bring what valuables they have with them, so during the day, when they’re out, they leave their things here.”
Shipley said he understands Hines' drive to have a shelter open in the winter.
“I’m getting multiple calls all the time about more and more people on the streets homeless,” he said.
Hines also provides food for the men staying in the shelter. While she has several days of the week filled, the facility is always in need.
“We tell people that because we are a small shelter, we don’t usually get over 10 people,” she explained. “So a pot of spaghetti, a pot of chili, that canned [food] the people we have here.” >
Hines' goal is to have the shelter open for 16 weeks, so she still needs $6,000 to pay utilities and the one staff member who stays overnight.
She said they also still need cleaning supplies, including disinfectant.
You can donate or drop off donations to the non-profit:
Mail a check to: Petersburg Center For Development
135 W. Tabb Street
Petersburg, VA 23803
Or you can make a donation via CashApp: $pcd4change
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