<div>Hi, my name is Sara and I own Sweetpea's, a flower shop, in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood of Toronto.
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<div>We have been in business since 2010, carefully and lovingly creating custom floral arrangements for our customers. Our dedication and hard work has earned us the reputation of being one of Toronto’s Best Florists. This is one of the proudest achievements in my life.
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<div>We are an eco and socially responsible florist, and a Living Wage employer providing above market wages and health benefits to our team. We have been active members in our community since we opened, supporting Roncy in every way we could.
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<div>We have a beautiful location, that brings colour, life and a sense of community to Roncesvalles. Sadly, our lease has not been renewed and we are being forced to leave the place we consider home.
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<div>We had only a few months’ notice, which is not enough time to find a new commercial location in this competitive and high-priced market; especially when this was unexpected and unplanned for.
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<div>Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to secure a long-term solution. Between the short timeline and rising commercial rents, we struggled to get something that fit our needs and budget. We have been able to find a new temporary location, with only weeks left before we have to move. Although not ideal, we are relieved to find shelter from the storm.
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<div>Like any small business, the last few years have been hard. We managed to get through COVID, the lockdowns, supply shortages and all the other struggles, but just as we thought we were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, my dad became very ill with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). He went from a strong, independent man, to a quadriplegic, in the ICU on a ventilator within days. Our family was brought to their knees.
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<div>Over the last year, we have sold our family home, my sister had to leave her career of 18 years and I nearly lost the shop I had spent the last twelve years building. I took out a significant loan in the late Spring, in effort to keep Sweetpea’s operating, while we took the time to focus on family. All of this was done to ensure my dad was able to recover. Our family has done our best to remain positive and work on rebuilding. My father has regained limited use of his legs, but his arms and hands have not returned. We are facing the reality that life will never return to what it once was. We continue to support each other as best we can. My sister has started working with me at the shop, as we start our own rehabilitation, of sorts. We are rebuilding, the same as my father is.
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<div>When we got notice that our lease was not going to be renewed, we simply never saw this coming. We have been good tenants and cared for the building like it was our own. Anyone who walked by would know this by the colourful murals, lush garden, and signature rainbow stairs that had become a staple of the Roncesvalles landscape.
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<div>I am doing my best to make the best of things, but the daunting task of relocating has been overwhelming; after an already challenging and tiring journey.
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<div>I drained my savings getting through the pandemic, refinanced my home, and exhausted any and all financial support from the government and conventional lenders. That was simply me surviving, let alone having to purchase a cooler, set up a new studio and going through the expense of first/last rent, plus a security deposit for a one year lease. Not only do we have to go through this now, we will again, this time next year. It feels like climbing a mountain, only to see another in the distance.
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<div>For decades I have supported community programs, school fairs, local fundraisers, fostered kittens at the shop, helped various charities, supported neighbourhood initiatives and provided everything I can, to give back to the beautiful neighbourhood we call home. I truly believe that Roncy is as special as it is, because of the small businesses on our main street, and the people who support us. Never have I seen an area so willing to stand by the entrepreneurs who risked everything to open restaurants, retail shops, and provide services to their community. It makes Roncy what it is; a small town in the heart of Toronto’s west end.
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<div>I am coming to this same community, hat in hand, asking for help.
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<div>I can’t survive this move financially. I have gone back and forth on how to make this work, and the sad reality is, I have exhausted my options.
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<div>We have found a studio location, but we need to outfit it with a walk-in cooler, sinks and basic shelving for supplies. Knowing this location will be temporary doesn’t make these expenses any smaller or easier to handle. We are repurposing as much as we can from our current space, but there are some things we have to build again.
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<div>Please know how torn I have been about this. As a business owner, I don’t know how this will be received, but my hope is, people will know how hard this is, and that the last thing I wanted to do was come to you for help.
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<div>If you are able, every bit helps and we are beyond grateful. If you are not comfortable donating here, please support us through ordering flowers, and sharing our story.
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<div>Thank you.
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Anonymous

Sue Campbell

Christina Hill

Pia M Bouman

Raveena Lally

Leyla Compani

Lorraine Gordon

Melissa Carmen Cheung

Mari Moreshead

Alexandria Renoir

Danielle Haeberlin

The Little Flower Shop that Could, Needs Help

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

currencyCode

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

Native 11.3.0 and above

Influencer - Prod

US fundraisers and US users

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

The Little Flower Shop that Could, Needs Help

Still $34,110 to go. Help us build momentum.