A thrift shop in Morden is captivating the hearts of businesses and people alike in the community. It’s managed to help out dozens of different organizations over the years when there’s a need for a helping hand. “That’s why we’re here,” said Kent Noel, president of the Morden Community Thrift Shop. Tuesday marked the grand opening of the store’s second location adjacent to their original home. Dozens of people waited anxiously in line to check out new donated items. But before any cash came in -- a total of 26 organizations shared $128,000 in grant money. “That’s the only reason these two buildings are here,” Noel said. “That’s why we built this new one is to be able to do what we do and that is funding our community.” The $128,000 has created a ripple effect on many facets of the community. Two years ago, the land where Ecole Discovery Trails stands in Morden was an empty field. Now it’s a brand-new state-of-the-art 400-meter track welcoming kids from the Western School Division to track meets. “We built this track so kids could come and enjoy it and run,” said Darcy Wolfe, chairperson of the Western School Division. “(They can) play soccer here in the middle of the track. It’s been huge for the running community, for the athletics community.” The track opened shortly after the school opened in 2024, but it wouldn’t be able to host dozens of runners - if it weren’t for a significant financial contribution from the Morden Community Thrift Shop. “They pledged $100,000 over five years so $20,000 a year for five years and that really got the ball rolling for us,” Wolfe said. “That donation was something that we could take to other donors and say, ‘Listen, the community believes in this.’” Staff at the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame say their $5,000 donation will go a long way to replacing old department store display cases now showing their age. “Now we are looking to get ready for the next 25 years,” said Jim Mutcheson, administrative manager at the Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame. “All of the new display cases will have three levels. We want to be able to preserve what we have in our collection. Our community supports them, they support back in huge dollars and it’s great to have that store in town.” A $6,000 donation to the Morden Police Service is going to support the force’s community outreach program and officer wellness in the community. “This is the true meaning of community support and community giving back,” said Sean Aune, chief of Morden Police Service. “Our community resource officer, he deals with at risks youths, and he’s in the school system a lot and it’s going to give him some flexibility to do some more events and taking out some youth and spending more time with them.” Aune also helps take care of Morden’s outdoor hockey rink. A $3,000 donation is set to help Zamboni repairs as well as structural work needed to preserve the playing surface boundary. “We’re doing a full replacement on all of the boards and all the fencing and another good community thing that everybody has access too for free,” Aune said. Eileen Vodden, a board member with South Central Cancer Resource said the store has supported them and their skin cancer patients since their inception in 2003. They received a $5,000 donation to help continue their programming. “We provide transportation and lymphedema supports to cancer patients if they need to go to Winnipeg or Brandon for treatment,” Vodden said. “They are an amazing organization.” Generosity reaches outside of Morden The generosity from the store is being felt outside of Morden. About 10 kilometres northwest of the city - a 131-year-old church is at risk of collapsing. Church members from Dunston United Church said a $2,500 donation will help them make critical repairs needed to keep it standing like it has since 1895. “This will make it possible that we can restore the foundation on this building,” said Grant Spencer, chairperson of Dunston United Church. “We have to lift the building off the foundation and replace the field stone underneath it.” Spencer said an annual picnic helps the church continue fundraising needed for repairs. They hope to have the building lifted in early July based on work with a contractor. While there has not been a Sunday service there for more than 25 years, the church remains a popular spot for weddings and recently hosted one at the end of May. They also plan to build a recreational baseball diamond in the back portion of the property and are working on receiving a historical designation from the province. “We’ve got signatures in our guest book from all over the world,” Spencer said. “It’s just amazing.” Whether it’s foundation repair or a new track, helping the community is all in a day’s work for the thrift stores team of more than 85 volunteers. Staff said they could always use more help. “It lets us know what we’ve done is worth it,” Noel said. Here is the full list of grant recipients from the Morden Community Thrift Shop and their current project: Western School Division – fourth of five payments of $20,000 to build a 400-meter track; Morden Christian Programs Committee – $10,000 in funding for Corn & Apple Entertainment; Western School Division - $8,000 in student scholarships; Morden Police Service - $6,000 to bolster community outreach program and officer wellness; Pembina Thresherman’s Museum - $6,000 to the exterior upgrade of part of the village; 500 Stephen Street - $5,000 for rent and programming; 500 Stephen Street - $5,000 for boardroom chairs and interior painting; Big Brothers / Big Sisters - $5,000 for programming for local kids; Boundary Trails Diabetic Therapy Help - $5,000 to offset costs for programming; Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame - $5,000 for upgrades and repairs to the museum; Morden Family Resource Centre - $5,000 for rent & programming; Morden Handi-Van - $5,000 for a van replacement; Morden History & Archives - $5,000 for equipment for digitization; Prairie Crossroads School - $5,000 for library books and educational resources; South Central Cancer Resource - $5,000 for programs and transport for cancer patients; Tabor Home – $5,000 for a new commercial dishwasher; Morden Outdoor Rink - $3,000 towards the upkeep of outdoor rinks; Buttercup Project / Michelle Budz - $2,500 for their Spay & Neuter program for feral cats; Central Manitoba Youth Choir - $2,500 for their programming; Dolly Parton Imagination Library -$2,500 to provide free books to preschoolers; Dunston Church Restoration - $2,500 donation to help foundation repair; Pembina Counselling Centre - $2,500 to subsidize client care; Morden Christmas Cheer -$2,000 for their Community Christmas hampers; Morden Library - $2,000 to update their book drop; Morden Safe Grad - $2,000 for their 2026 safe grad celebration & prizes; and Katie Cares/Katie’s Cottage - $1,500 in new linens for Katie’s Cottage.
