Successful move
Maggie’s Place progressing well since transition to new Prince Street facility.
TRURO – Since moving into their new digs, things have been progressing well for Maggie’s Place Family Resource Centre. Linda Legere, the centre’s executive director, said it’s been “very busy” since the Sept. 1 move into 1027 Prince St. “The building is meeting all of our expectations,” said Legere. “A lot of our programs have doubled, which we were hoping, but it was almost automatically. We didn’t expect it so soon.” While the centre offers numerous programs, such as family- oriented, parent education and support, child and youth- focused, pre- and post- natal programs, Legere said it’s hard to pinpoint what is most popular because they all meet a number of different needs. “But, I would say our play groups are very popular,” she said. “One of the reasons, I think, is because you can go with children of a variety of ages, from a baby right up to school- aged. Plus, you can decide that day if you want to go or not, and you don’t have to pre- register like a lot of the other programs.” After almost 20 years at its former location on Arthur Street, the organization outgrew the facility and decided to relocate. The building on Prince Street is about three times larger on one level alone, giving the organization more of a chance to partner with more community groups to offer increased programming and networking opportunities. To help with the move, Maggie’s Place started a fundraising campaign to help offset renovation costs estimated at $ 100,000. The organization has raised about 40 per cent of that with the campaign continuing until Aug. 31. To support the campaign, Maggie’s Place was recently the recipient of more than $ 1,000 thanks to “Harv’s annual birthday party.” “The idea for this party all started after I threw myself a surprise 40th birthday party and over 200 were in attendance,” said birthday host Harvey MacArthur in a news release about the donation. “From that party, I was asked by many to continue to have an annual party for it was so much fun. I agreed and thought, ‘ why don’t I turn this into an annual fundraising event?’” Since 2008, the party has raised money in support of the Colchester Food Bank, the Rath Eastlink Community Centre, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Colchester. This year’s donation to Maggie’s Place was a total of $ 1,120. “We really appreciate the support of everyone who attended Harv’s birthday party and we will put the funds directly towards our move campaign,” Legere said. The centre is also planning fundraisers for the campaign, including the annual stroller- a- thon and Touch a Truck event, which is set for June 22 at the TAAC Grounds in Truro.