Local couple raising funds to buy gift cards for healthcare workers

What began as an idea to bring some baked goods and pizza to hospital staff has since morphed into a full-blown fundraising campaign to give healthcare workers gift cards from local businesses.   

Marla Guzzo and husband Adam Slumskie have launched ‘Thank You Gifts for SSM Healthcare Workers,’ a GoFundMe page dedicated to simultaneously raising funds for healthcare workers and local businesses dealing with the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. 

“The point of the campaign is for people to thank healthcare workers, but also be able to support those businesses that they know and love - and might be getting little to no business at this time - and give them a little assistance as well,” said Guzzo. “The idea is to get gift cards from places like restaurants, stores or places that have goods and services that these healthcare workers can redeem later on when life gets back to normal.”

Guzzo and her husband will cover the fees charged by GoFundMe, which takes 2.9 per cent of each donation and charges a transaction fee of 30 cents per donation. 

“My husband and I are going to cover those fees on our end, to make sure that the full value that people donate goes to the businesses that they want to support,” she said. 

Guzzo and Slumskie will close the GoFundMe page in a few weeks, and will then contact businesses to arrange a contactless way of buying gift cards and getting them delivered, without breaking any sort of public health measures like physical distancing. 

The couple has now raised more than $2,000 of its $4,000 goal since launching the GoFundMe page March 22, with donors specifying some of the local businesses they would like to see supported through the purchase of gift cards. 

Guzo says that the fundraising drive is nothing more than a way of giving thanks to the Sault’s healthcare workers while attempting to help businesses going through a tough time financially. 

“They are really stepping up at this time, while all of us are kind of taking a step back from our regular lives,” said Guzzo of local healthcare workers. “The time that it takes to call around to a couple businesses and buy gift cards with dollars that we’ve raised is really nothing in comparison to what they will be doing for us.”

“My heart also goes out to the local businesses - being an entrepreneur is tough in the best of times, and it’s really challenging. And then, to have this [coronavirus pandemic] thrown into what you might have been planning for your business and your growth this year, it can be really upsetting for some people,” she continued. “While some businesses might survive this, some might have a very hard time, so it’s great that I’m seeing so many suggestions for different businesses because it kind of opens your eyes to how many people are being affected at this time while everything is closed.” 

Donations can be made on the Thank You SSM Healthcare Workers GoFundMe page.