​​GATES, N.Y. — ​A Gates woman whose doors always seem to be open to those in need is doing something big this weekend. But she needs help. That’s why she’s collecting purses on Saturday.

Home is something Cheryl Snead never takes for granted.

“It just goes back to having a grateful heart,” said Snead. “Being grateful for what I have.”

Which is why she helps other women who are less fortunate, including single moms and single women, many of whom are homeless.

“Our house has just been like a shelter,” she said. “It’s just been a place where people can find help and be restored.”

On Saturday, Snead will help in other ways. The Esther Project is the name of Snead’s overall effort to help women in need. She will be collecting purses from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at 10 locations in and around Rochester.

“We collect the purses and we fill them up with toiletries,” she said. “Because I asked, ‘what is one of the greatest needs in the shelters?’ And they were like, you know, toiletries and stuff for the women to have, to take care of themselves.”

The Purse Project is Snead’s way of giving back, while also making connections to local homeless shelters and the women who stay there. She is inspired by her own humble upbringing, and works tirelessly to help women find stable housing.

“Sometimes I think about it like, that could be me,” she said of the homeless women she helps. “Now they’re safe. They’re in their own place, and that’s where I get that joy, when you finally reach the end it’s like, ahh.”

Since she started the Purse Project, Snead has collected over 700 purses for homeless women. She’s working on opening her own shelter for women so they can find their own place — to call home.

“You just do what you have to do,” she said. “To try to make something happen for people.”