How "The Rose Foundation" came to be...

Rose Romita, a well known downtown local figure, came to Barrie in 1991 and opened her first restaurant on Maple Ave. She loved running her own business, and as a single mother of twins, felt that Barrie was an excellent community to work, live and raise her children.

Over the years, Rose who has become affectionately known as "Rosie", operated a number of restaurants and businesses in downtown Barrie. In 1995, Rose held her first Christmas Dinner for the homeless, serving 50 dinners. With the help of many volunteers, corporate donors, and local media, her dinners, (Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving) have become an eagerly awaited event by both volunteers, and those who are graciously thankful for the hearty meal on a special occasion. Now 600 guests and growing!

Early in 2009, Rose closed the doors at "Rosie's Diner" to focus full time on "Catering by Rose". But Rose missed the amazing feeling she got from helping Barrie's homeless. It has become her dream to open a transitional house for the homeless families in Barrie, and if you know Rose...

...where there's a will, there's a way!

Rose and a team of dedicated individuals are working feverishly on making this much needed community service become a reality. Her mission is to provide emergency and transitional housing for the homeless families and individuals in Simcoe County. Her hope is that the location of this transitional house will be in Barrie's downtown core. But there is still so much more to be done!