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Local garden centre raises $65,000 for charity

June 10, 2021   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

The team over at 10 and 10 Garden Centre in Mono is making a big impact on the community’s not-for-profit sector as it generates $65,000 from its annual May fundraiser where 10 per cent of all sales are donated.

The money is being divided between 23 different charitable organizations throughout the region.

Part owner of 10 and 10 Garden Centre, Nishan Kooner said he’s amazed with how much money the garden centre is able to donate this year, nearly tripling the $25,000 that was raised in May of 2020.

“It feels really, really good to receive this much support,” he said. “We were we were lucky enough that our sales started going up and we were able to expand our business during COVID…and it’s because of the support of the community, so it’s only fair that we support them back.”

Kooner told the Citizen that 10 and 10 Garden Centre’s future looked very uncertain last year when the pandemic first started. The business was up to its eyeballs in debt, with the bank owning everything at the time, following a massive expansion to the garden centre in November of 2019, he noted.

“When COVID hit we thought we were probably going to lose it all, so when we saw sales start to really sky rocket, we figured if we have that fortune, like if we’re lucky enough to have the opposite effect, where COVID is knocking businesses out left, right and center, then we should share our luck with people,” Kooner explained.

“I feel we’re fortunate people have shown us a lot of love here, so we felt obligated to give back and now it’s kind of as become a main attraction of our business,”

The garden centre’s fundraising efforts started small, with an initial Christmas fundraiser in December of 2019, raising $600 and since then their ability to generate funds has improved exponentially.

The 23 charities that are receiving the $65,000 include:

• Family Transition Place – $4000
• Choices Youth Shelter – $4000
• Orangeville Food Bank – $1500
• Shepherd’s Cupboard Food Bank – $1500
• Dufferin Community Foundation – $3000
• Alzheimer Society of Dufferin County – $2000
• Bethell Hospice Foundation – $2000
• Kerry’s Place Autism Services – $2000
• Orangeville Jean Hamlyn YMCA Child Care Centre – $3000
• War Child Canada – $3000
• Spinal Cord Injury Canada – $2000
• Foundation for Women’s Health Research and Development Reviews – $3000
• Wounded Warrior Canada – $4000
• Animal Aid India – $4000
• GLO Farm Sanctuary – $5000
• Silver Willow Farm Rescue and Sanctuary – $5000
• Karuna Lane Sanctuary and Farm Stay – $3000
• The Browns’ Microsanctuary – $3000
• Procyon Wildlife – $2000
• Fur Warriors – $4000
• Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge – $2000
• Headwaters Pet Food Bank – $1000
• National Wildlife Centre – $3000

In addition to the annual May fundraiser, 10 and 10 Garden Centre runs different specials throughout the year, each designated to support a local charity in some way.

Currently, for customers who make a donation to the local food bank on site, the business is offering 25 per cent off of all seasonal items.

“Basically, everything we do, every promotion that we do in our store has some sort of fundraising aspect to it,” Kooner noted.

There’s also a bottle drive going on at the garden centre in support of ALAS Dufferin, which helps adults with developmental disabilities learn life skills.

Kooner said because he works with so many different charities, anyone who’s struggling and needs direction in receiving support is welcome to drop by 10 and 10 Garden Centre.

“People that feel they have nowhere to really turn or that are down on their luck, they are welcome to approach us for help,” he noted.

Kooner said 10 and 10 Garden Centre is very grateful for all of the community’s support with their May fundraiser this year and they plan to continue it, no matter what their sales are that month,

“This May fundraiser’s going to be permanent going forward. Ten per cent of all sales – doesn’t matter if one year we can make $5 million in May, then we’re donating $500,000 doesn’t matter. There’s no limit to it.”

To learn more about 10 and 10 Garden Centre visit: https://www.10and10.ca/

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