Morden Community Thrift Store donates a million dollars to the Boundary Trails Health Centre Foundation hospital expansion 

On the heels of the Boundary Trails Health Centre expansion project, the BTHC Foundation received a burst of funding towards their $10 million fundraising goal to support it.  

BTHC Foundation Chair Ben Friesen expressed his feelings about the donation from the Morden Community Thrift Store. 

"When we came up with $10 million is what we jointly, as a board, decided to raise for this project, we were working with the Morden Thrift Store prior that already, and we didn't know exactly what the amount would be, but then we did have a meeting with them, and they informed us they were open to give us that first $1,000,000 cheque. That was just fantastic, that's 10% of what we start with. Everybody always sees the Thrift Store there, but nobody really knows how huge a part of the community it is and that they contribute such a large amount to the community."  

Friesen shared the steps going forward towards the remaining portion of the goal.

"We know it's a big target and we're obviously also going to a very large community. We're not just working with the Morden/Winkler/Stanley area. We are approaching some 25-30 different municipalities. We feel like all of them will contribute in some fashion and then, of course, we're going to some businesses, and then we have specialized people like Colleen and Bill Lyne, who just to come up with $750,000 for the Cardiography Suite, I mean, it's fantastic. There probably are more people and more businesses around in the community that are looking to do that kind of thing, and we'll try to find them." 

MCTS Chairperson Kent Noel said 5 years ago they had planned to build their own building with funds they had set aside, but those plans changed, and they had to decide what to do with that money. 

"With the funds that they had, they sat down and brainstormed the idea, 'What can we use this money for?' and then, 'There's going to be a hospital expansion.' and they put that together for when it happens. It's about five years in the making. We're very proud to be able to do this. It's an honour for us."  

Noel said the announcement has changed that atmosphere in the Thrift Store. 

"From the people that walk through the door from our customers, for everyone that walks through the door for volunteering in the last five years, even prior of that, it's an uplifting experience for everybody, and then to be able to do this. Since I announced on Tuesday, when we found out that this is actually happening, we're doing it right now, smiles and the whole mood in the store is so much different than it was. It was good before, but now everybody's happy that something we've planned on, like this, is is finally coming through. It's five years in the making, and we're just happier than we can be, to be able to do this right now." 

Friesen also acknowledged a $750, 000 donation was also given to the fund from the late Bill Lyne and his widow Colleen.  Bill passed away last year, and Colleen was not well enough to attend Thursday's event.