500 Stephen Community Centre a flourishing home for local non-profits and programs in Morden

500 Stephen Community Centre in Morden is a flourishing place for local non-profit organizations to operate, and for community members to gather.
    
The centre brings many resources together under one roof and greatly enhances what existing local organizations can offer.
    
Executive Director Jenna Warkentine says the centre caters 100 % to non-profit organizations and community groups. She says they understand budgets are very limited and organizations need support in providing programs.
    
Last week, 500 Stephen Community Centre offered its facility as the host site for Pembina Valley United Way to hold the kick-off to its annual fundraising campaign.
    
500 Stephen Community Centre can only operate with the help of donations and grants itself, so Warkentine says it's great being able to give back to groups like the United Way, an organization that has supported them in the past.

"It was a group of community members who recognized that programs could not be accessed by Morden," said Warkentine. "Winkler is great at supporting Winkler organizations, but how do we bring them here? There's a lot of organizations that run throughout the region, they cover a huge area, but they can't have offices in every community." 

"Our building right now is funded just by donations and by organizations like United Way and (Morden) Thrift Store, who see us as a need and allow us to continue having our organizations, our non-profits here." 

There are now a total of 24 organizations and community groups that use their facility on a regular monthly basis and four organizations that house offices within their building.

The Centre also houses the offices of four organizations in the building. That includes Many Hands which is the local food bank. Many Hands also runs the farmers market and multiple other programs, 

"We have Workplace Education Manitoba who does skill development, and then we have our Community Mobilization Program," added Warkentine." The Community Mobilization Program focuses on stabilizing families and individuals with all those systems around them and supports.

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