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14
Sep 2024
13:00
30
Aug 2024
04:00
2024 MAC Camp Legacy – Campers Registration
85153 Bluewater Highway, R.R. #3
Goderich, Ontario N7A 3X9 Canada
Read More Goderich, Ontario N7A 3X9 Canada
30
Aug 2024
04:00
Protected: 2024 MAC Camp Legacy – Sponsored Campers Registration
85153 Bluewater Highway, R.R. #3
Goderich, Ontario N7A 3X9 Canada
Read More Goderich, Ontario N7A 3X9 Canada
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The MAC London team looked at the Masonville area for a possible musalla 3 years ago when it was deciding between Hyde Park masjid and this location, however, it eventually decided to go with Hyde Park at the time. The matter resurfaced again when the Hyde Park masjid team was able to establish a temporary musallah at Wonderland Rd and Fanshawe Park Rd from April to September 2021 which was attended very well by the community in the north. When the team had to close this temporary location there were a lot of requests to try to make the space permanent or find an alternative location that would meet the needs of the London north community around Masonville. As a result the team came across this opportunity, conveniently located at the junction of Richmond St. and Fanshawe Park Rd. MAC London did several internal assessments and community consultations, especially with those living in the nearby areas. The community feedback was strongly positive, although internally there were concerns about sustainable growth. As a result a trial opening was conducted during Ramadan 2022 and for a few months thereafter, which alhamdulillah was very well attended. After the space closed in July 2022, it was communicated that the centre would reopen early 2023 for longer time services for the community inshallah.
Green colored Unit (Top Left) is the MAC Masonville Centre in the Plaza. For Jummah prayers, parking is available along both sides of North Centre Road and you can enter the centre from the back door. Green boxes around parking spaces in the plaze show allowed parking spaces for congregants on Jummah along Richmond Street.
Shoppers from nearby Mall are able to access the space with a 5min walk.
Site Information
The proposed site is approximately 7600 sqft on the second floor of the newly constructed building at the northwest corner of Richmond Street and Fanshawe Park Road. The site is available for us to use for 2-3 years and thereafter we hope to relocation to another nearby location, hopefully in the same plaza. Below are some pictures showing the space, and its use for Ramadan 2022.
Support and Feedback
The team is in the process of assessing if there is sufficient support for the proposed location and is looking to collect feedback. Please pledge your financial support below. We will only follow up with you to collect your donation if the project get approved, and this is only a pledge of support, not an actual payment.
Proposed Use
Like the MAC Youth Centre, the MAC London team hopes the proposed site will be a hub for youth to gather for their social and spiritual needs as well serving other needs of the broader community. The site is very convenient and accessible to youth from Western University and nearby elementary and high schools.
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- Youth Education Hub
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- Quran Programs
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- Arabic School Program
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- Youth Social Programs
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- Isha and Fajr community prayers
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- Friday community prayers
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- Taraweh (Ramadan evening prayers)
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- Tahajjud (Late night prayers)
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- And others…
Finances
While the finances are still being finalized, we estimated rent, utilities, maintenance, salaries and taxes to cost around $20,000/month for the space while we will also need about $50,000 for initial setup and site preparation.
Community Consultations
As mentioned earlier, the MAC London team had been assessing the opportunity internally several months in 2021 and although it saw great opportunity for community with the site, there are also challenges that it has proposed various mitigation strategies.
Key opportunities addressing needs of the Masonville and northeast neighborhood, growth of religious and social programs especially targeting our youth, activating community members for dawa work, addressing the growing population of muslims in the area, and leveraging the synergies from other MAC spaces such as Westmount, Hyde Park, and Noor Gardens iA. Key challenges that would need to be addressed is ensuring community buy-in with 1) sufficient financial support, 2) volunteer support, and 3) effective management of the space and parking.
The team has made significant progress with addressing challenges 2 and 3, and is now in the process of getting community feedback. The team is also looking for financial support for $50,000 in one time donation pledges s as well as $5,000 monthly donation pledges to be able to move forward with the project.
The MAC London team help community townhall in January of 2022 and then released a community survey to collect feedback. The community survey showed a very strong support from the community (>80%), while concerns related to sustainability were also highlighted. The MAC London team then proceeded with the trial run during Ramadan, and mashallah agian the community response was very positive with 300-500 congregants attending taraweh, while around 90 congregants were attending jumua service that was offered at 12pm. As a result of the community support it was announced that the centre would reopen for a longer term service early 2023.
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