Our Staff

Jeannie Martinez: Great Finds Store Manager

Jeannie has been the Store Manager since 2013 and has brought valuable retail and inventory management experience to the Ministry. She looks forward to coming in to work and is thankful for the support that she and her son have received since joining Stonegate Ministry.  Jeannie is also grateful to see her son growing up knowing Christ and ministering Christ’s work by involving himself in the member churches’ youth groups and volunteering both at Great Finds and the Christ Church St. James Food Pantry.

She shares that her favourite part of the job is being able to help others.  She gets very passionate as she talks about enjoying the moment when a customer is so thankful at getting something of real value at such a low price or when a customer comes in just to have a caring volunteer show genuine interest in what is happening in their lives.  She goes on to explain that Great Finds is not just a place to shop, but also a place where people experience acceptance, love and being part of a community.  Some in the neighbourhood say that they cannot walk by the store without coming in.

Because of her depth of compassion for others, her quick sense of humour and her ever-present smile, she creates an atmosphere of care, warmth and love where there are always plenty of helping hands and laughter to go around. It touches Jeannie’s heart deeply when she sees how the volunteers do not intentionally go out to minister; it just happens naturally.  It is a part of who the volunteers are (Micah 6:8). It is also because of who Jeannie is.

Natalie Sharpe: Ministry Program Director

Natalie Sharpe, Ministry Program Director for Stonegate Ministry, is a new member to the team. She helps to guide and support the program facilitators as well as maintain and implement new and existing Ministry programs and campaigns.

In her short time with the Ministry, Natalie has expressed her enthusiasm and passion for serving the community in a variety of ways. She brings her knowledge and experience as an ordained Pastor of Word of Life Ministries PCG. Natalie’s compassionate heart and desire to see people excel makes her relatable and easy to approach. This truth propelled her very early into mentoring and counseling; serving as a Youth President for over 10 years, she guided fellow students and other young people towards righteous living while pursuing their academic goals and transitioning into adulthood.

Natalie also took her calling and mission into her academic studies in theology and broadcasting and media. She felt led by the Holy Spirit to challenge, change and correct the standards of media broadcasting. She has opened up new doors for the Gospel to be spread using the metamorphic tool of the spoken word, media and various forms of communication.

We have experienced a whirlwind of changes to the programs organized and hosted by Stonegate Ministry and our partners due to an unprecedented time with COVID-19. Many of these changes have included shifting to a different method of communication and incorporating technologies that have not been used before in this setting. Natalie has wholeheartedly put forward her passion, knowledge and technical skills to help ensure that the programs at Stonegate Ministry remain accessible, effective and progressive even during this challenging time.

Carol-Anne Foty: Financial Assistant

Carol-Anne Foty served from 2012 to 2020 as the Stonegate Ministry Office Administrator, and, prior to that, as a volunteer at the former Outreach Store in the Stonegate Plaza. Carol-Anne was a retail community pharmacist for many years before leaving that career in 2008, sensing God’s call in her life for a new chapter in her faith journey. Volunteering with Romero House on Bloor St. West was followed by volunteering at the Oasis-Dufferin Community Centre Food Bank for three years before coming to Stonegate Ministry.

Carol-Anne took training with, and was commissioned by Threshold Ministries in September 2016 as a Threshold Ministry Evangelist. Carol-Anne particularly appreciates the openness to God’s presence among the volunteers and clients at Great Finds and among the programs that Stonegate Ministry has in place. One such program is “Prayer for You”, happening now at the Stonegate Ministry’s Christ Church Food Bank, where folks being served there have an opportunity to chat and share their burdens in a prayer-filled and confidential opportunity with the Ministry’s prayer team members. Carol-Anne and her prayer colleagues enjoy connecting in meaningful ways to reveal the love of Christ to all who partake of Stonegate Ministry’s outreach in our needy communities.