As many residents in the town of Meaford reminisce about the Meaford Midas Mart as it is demolished this week, there is reason to celebrate.
After 29 years, the Midas Mart (thrift shop) curtailed its operations. To fill this gap in serving the community with affordable clothing and linens, the Meaford Rotary Club opened the Meaford Rotary Thrift Shop in December 2022. The Rotary Thrift Shop rents the main floor in the former Church of the Nazarene, which also is rented on the lower level by the Meaford Food Bank and Outreach.
Now, the Meaford Rotary Club is purchasing the building and renovating to meet accessibility requirements to permanently house these two essential services and build collaborations with others.
The Meaford Rotary Club has officially launched its fundraising campaign to support the purchase and meet the accessibility requirements of the Church as a community service hub. The Meaford Rotary Club has committed $275,000 of its own funds and needs a total of $550,000 to meet their goal.
Meaford is a community with diverse family and individual needs. StatsCan 2021 indicates that nearly one-third of Meaford households struggle with housing costs. The Meaford Rotary House buoys up the ‘between paychecks’ family life by offering a Thrift Shop dedicated to affordable clothes and linens and providing a permanent location for the Meaford FoodBank. The Meaford Rotary House team is collaborating now with partners to provide outreach services to the most vulnerable in the community.
Meaford Rotary Club has been an integral part of the community for 86 years. They own and operate the Godfrey Apartments as one of the community’s only affordable housing complexes and contribute thousands of dollars annually to the Meaford Hospital Foundation and the Meaford Public Library. Meaford Rotary House continues the Rotary commitment to sustaining a healthy community.
Details on how to donate, the ongoing development, and the statistics on community need for Meaford Rotary House are available on their website: www.meafordrotaryhouse.ca
