Mindemoya Old School receives first corporate donation
MINDEMOYA—Friends of Mindemoya Old School (FOMOS) is excited to announce its first large scale corporate donation to assist in the revitalization of the Mindemoya Old School into a viable community asset.
“FOMOS is privileged to receive a $10,000 grant from Trillium Mutual Insurance-Roots Community Fund,” a release states. “FOMOS board was asked to meet with Roots Community Fund committee members after receiving an invitation to discuss our proposed project for the school. After providing a presentation to the committee, we received word that they wished to contribute to our project once we had established a fully signed long term lease. Once this was accomplished FOMOS received this wonderful contribution.”
Tracy MacDonald, chief executive officer of Trillium Mutual Insurance told The Expositor, “we have this community fund and are always looking for opportunities to enhance rural agricultural areas and the community. FOMOS brought forward the details of their project, how they are looking to refurbish an old school building that will benefit seniors, arts and culture, and that there will be resulting benefits on the community. FOMOS is refurbishing a historic building that had been at the risk of demolition.”
“We set aside funds in the (roots community fund) for groups such as FOMOS and the project they are planning to benefit the community,” said Ms. MacDonald.
“We wish to thank Trillium Mutual Insurance for their confidence in our plan for the future of this building,” said FOMOS president Jan McQuay. “The money will assist with our project that will directly provide programming for our rural community.”
Ms. McQuay said, “We are grateful that Trillium Mutual Insurance supports our vision to transform a century-old building into a centre that will enrich the lives of residents. This building is in an ideal location, right in the heart of Mindemoya where many of our seniors now reside, and where people go to shop and do business. To serve our aging population FOMOS will create a seniors’ centre that will offer new opportunities for recreation, fitness, learning and re-connecting with others. To assist our rural artists and artisans, many of whom live along country roads, our vision for the building includes creating a year-round marketplace and studio space in downtown Mindemoya. This will boost incomes for these talented people, and have the winder, more general benefit of attracting more tourism on
Manitoulin Island.”
“We are hoping that this (Trillium) donation will spur on other corporate donations,” said Alison McAllister, FOMOS treasurer. “We would definitely welcome more donations like this. We are always looking for business contributions. There is a lot of opportunities for businesses to contribute, not only financially. We need goods and services such as fire-retardant Gyproc, insulation, concrete and other materials for the work that is going to be taking place.”
Ms. McAllister pointed out an architect has donated their time and effort to work on a concept design for the building based on FOMOS and community needs.
“Although our not-for-profit is not much more than a year old, we have a dedicated team, and we very much appreciate Trillium Mutual’s trust in us to make this vision a reality,” said Ms. McQuay.
