THE doors have swung open again at Molony’s Market and Arts Centre with stall holders welcoming back patrons over the June long weekend.
Closed for around 10 weeks due to COVID-19 restrictions, the Mount Gambier market’s reopening has now paved the way for its major annual fundraiser to continue, having raised as much as $7000 a year for the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 2017.
The money is raised through the sale of donated goods at the Commercial Street West market’s garage sale stall with Make-AWish Australia Mount Gambier volunteer branch treasurer Chris Mulraney urging the community to support the initiative.
Ms Mulraney said the market and volunteer branch relied on donations of residents and visitors alike to maintain the consistent tally, with current travel restrictions likely to impact sales.
“I like to raise up to $250 each Sunday but because a lot of people do not know about us it has become harder,” Ms Mulraney said.
“Although the Sunday just gone was a good day – where we raised around $200 – we do need the support from locals because we are not getting as many tourists coming through.”
Ms Mulraney said although the long weekend brought in visitors from across the state, it would not be a weekly occurrence.
“We have not had a strong influx of people coming through over the years and we have been trying to get the word out there,” she said.
“Now we ask the community to come down and have a look at what we offer, especially after the coronavirus because many people would want to get out of the house.”
Ms Mulraney has been part of the market for almost a decade and has helped form the Make-A-Wish fundraiser.
“We raised a significant amount of money each year and it is worth all the behind the scenes effort just to see the faces of the children.”
Ms Mulraney also praised the community for its donations of goods.
The Molony’s Market and Arts Centre is open each Sunday from 10am until 2pm and is currently enforcing social distancing measures and has hand sanitiser available.
