The Cancer Support Center announced Tuesday, April 7, that by the end of the year it will close the Village Door, a downtown Homewood retail furniture and houseware shop that has for three decades provided support for the center.
Volunteers and customers reported they felt both blindsided and heart broken by the decision, and Cancer Support Center officials acknowledged the role both have played over the years.
A news release from the center said the decision to close the store was difficult, but it was “part of a broader effort to ensure long-term sustainability and sharpen focus on its core mission — providing strength, guidance, and support to anyone impacted by cancer, at no cost.”
Executive Director Kristen Lunsford told the Chronicle the projected costs of operating the store are rising and expected to continue to rise. Volunteers said the store still covers its expenses and contributes several thousand dollars a year to the center, but Lunsford indicated the store’s prosperity was not expected to last.
“Rising costs — we don’t see that leveling off or settling down anytime soon, so we just had to make that difficult decision to see what was best aligned for the Cancer Support Center as a whole,” Lunsford said.
The Chronicle met with a dozen supporters of the store. Many of them are cancer patients and survivors or have lost loved ones to the disease. That personal experience is what fuels their devotion to the cause and helps them connect with patrons who come to the store not only to shop but to talk.
Volunteer Cheryl Van Kempema read a statement that summed up the views of the group.
“While the center has been the head of our mission, the Door has been the heart. And now that heart has been broken,” she read. “The Door has done so much more than to sell cute stuff to customers. We are the PR for the center. Many people come in unaware of the center and its mission, and we make sure that they know.
“We’re the biggest emotional support group in Homewood. We listen to people share their stories of grief and loss. Some stay to talk for an hour or more because they need compassion. a listening ear and sometimes even a hug. … We provide an emotional component that is sometimes just as essential as the physical programs that the center provides. I hope the center and the community realizes just how how much love we have shared and how much we’ve loved doing it.”
Van Kempema’s daughter, Diane Matthews, is the manager of the store. In addition to volunteering, Matthews is a contract employee for the center and said she did not feel it would be appropriate to comment on the store’s closure.
Several volunteers credited Matthews for making the store more viable and efficient in recent years, building its online presence and improving sales documentation.
Lunsford said she recognized the value of the volunteers’ dedication and emotional support for patrons. She said in the months before the store closes, center officials will be looking for ways to keep that spirit alive in other ways.
A regular customer, Maristella Gozzi, said the store is not only important for the financial and emotional support its volunteers provide.
“It’s important for the community. It’s important for the downtown,” she said, and long-time volunteer Katie DaLuga agreed, noting that the Village Door generates foot traffic that helps other nearby businesses.
DaLuga has been the volunteer coordinator at the store. She said her connection to the Cancer Support Center goes back to 2008, when she and her husband were both diagnosed with cancer within five days of each other.
Van Kempema also spoke for most volunteers when she balanced her disappointment at the decision to close the store with her continued support for the center’s mission.
“We also need to realize that the mission of the Cancer Support Center needs to continue and we don’t want our disappointment to impact that in a negative way,” she said in her statement. “We need to end our time here with the love and dedication we have always shown and do our very best in the time we have left.”
