Two weeks after a massive fire tore through the historic Symons Valley Ranch, the ownership group is coming together to help out the business owners who have lost everything.
A fundraiser is being launched at the Market on Macleod at noon on Friday where ‘support local’ t-shirts will be sold with all profits going back to support the vendors.
The shirts cost $20 each and all the proceeds will be forwarded to a trust account held by a third party.
"After the fire on January 26, it became brutally apparent that we had two major issues. We had to help with the vendors so they could get back on their feet and feed their families," said Ken Aylesworth, the marketing manager of Symons Valley Ranch Farmers' Market. "The second was to find a replacement home in the interim while another building was built."
The Symons Valley Ranch Farmers' Market was destroyed in a massive fire on January 26, devastating the 33 small business owners who worked out of the facility.
No one was hurt in the blaze, but very little was salvageable between the flames and the water used to put them out.
Friday’s fundraiser is just one of the ways that the ownership group is trying to help the displaced vendors.
"Lots of these are small business people. They are what we would refer to as 'mom and pop' organizations. This is their sole income; they come into work on Friday and sell throughout the weekends. What they make is what pays their bills."
Shortly after the fire, the owners told the media that it would be rebuilding the facility as soon as possible.
A temporary market, and eventual permanent location, is planned for northwest Calgary.
Aylesworth says that the facility has been sold to another company that is planning to build a new facility, including a Farmers' Market on the site.
T-shirts will also be on sale at all Servus Credit Union locations and Jamesons Pub.
