In 1966 several ladies of Sacred Heart Parish in Gladwin wanted to do some Mission work. They reached out to other church mission circles in Gladwin, Coleman and Edenville to form a mission group that rolled bandages for the war effort. After they had the bandages ready, the ladies held rummage sales and raffles to raise the funds to ship bandages to hospitals overseas for the war. This was the humble beginning of what is now the Sacred Heart Mission for Gladwin County MI.
The present Mission grew out of that early mission work and grew from the basement of the church to the small space attached to the Sacred Heart Activity Center. The Mission developed into a high demand thrift store with affordable clothing and items for people in need. The money raised shifted to assist with food, electric and heating assistance for Gladwin County residents.
In 2010 the need for space opened up the opportunity to move to its current location in the at 220 S. James Robinson Drive, Gladwin, MI. This move dramatically increased the visibility and outreach to our communities allowing the Mission to provide heating , electric shut off assistance, food, affordable clothing and items for families through the Thrift Store. In 2011 Sacred Heart Mission became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. The Sacred Heart Mission is a religion established non-profit organization that gives back to those in our community members who are in need.
The need in Gladwin County has grown exponentially over the past years and with that growth an expansion to the Mission was researched. Through the guidance of the Sacred Heart Mission board members in collaboration with the Mission staff, the expansion has become a reality. It was with the generous donation from the DeShano Family Foundation in memory of their founding patriarch Gary DeShano, that the reality has come to fruition and our 60 x 80 expansion wil be completed and open this spring!
We are truly thankful to all of the donors and the awarded grants that are helping the Mission continue to tend to those in need in Gladwin County.
DeShano Family Foundation our beautiful new building and choosing the Sacred Heart Mission to honor Gary.
Consumers Energy Refrigeration/Shelving grant for the expanded Food Pantry
Gladwin County Community Foundation grant to assist with the development of the Mission Resource Connection Center