Batavia businesses give $3,000 to nonprofit

At Suicide Prevention Services in Batavia, there's not really a budget for furniture.

Most of the couches and chairs were bought at garage sales or donated. If the group has extra money, it's spent on services, not accommodations, Director Stephanie Weber said.

So a donation from Batavia businesses of $3,000 in IKEA gift cards will be a huge boost for the center, Weber said.

"This just dropped out of heaven as far as we're concerned," she said after receiving the donation Wednesday.

Nine Batavia businesses entered the Swedish furniture store's "Small Businesses, Big Dreams" contest earlier this year in hopes of winning a $50,000 makeover.

They took third place out of 80 entries, earning them the IKEA gift cards.

It wasn't practical to split the money and have a little more than $300 to spend at each business, said Julane Sullivan, of All Dressed Up.

Craig Foltos, of Foltos Tonsorial Parlor, suggested donating the money to a local nonprofit group. Sullivan said Suicide Prevention Services needed it the most.

The center will use the money to redo the call center, maybe buying a comfortable couch and "things that actually match," Weber said.

Weber said she plans to replace old desks, chairs and bookshelves.

The people who answer the phones to talk to suicidal callers or those who are worried about their loved ones are volunteers, and Weber said she was happy she could make a nicer, homier place for them.

The center is also starting a program for children who have lost relatives to suicide, and will need art supplies and furniture for that room as well, she said.

Jim Hagemann, co-owner of H & I Decorating in Batavia, plans to donate time and resources to complete the rooms with paint and wall decorations.

"If you're going to do it, let's do it right," he said.