Victory House receiving sizeable donation from Rock Garden Farms

June 24, 2021 · 0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

A local organization working to create support services for women and children in crisis is receiving a much-needed financial boost from a business in the area.

Rock Garden Farms (16930 Airport Rd, Caledon East) is donating $3,000 to Victory House, which is a newly established transitional home that will offer support, training, and refuge to women and children in need, once it officially opens its doors later this year.

The donation was made possible through Rock Garden’s recent fundraiser, where all the proceeds from rosebush sales went to Victory House.

“We are trying to support women in the hard times that they are going through right now, along with their families,” said Margaret Galati, head of operations at Rock Garden Farms.

There are over 50 volunteers who are working to build Victory House and they run the Victory Lap Emporium (18420 Hurontario St, Caledon Village), which is a store that sells donated items and has been struggling to generate revenue due to the provincial lockdowns for COVID-19.

“We really wanted to support them because COVID also kind of put a damper on them selling to the public – it can be hard to sell stuff online,” explained Galati.

“We do try to help out a lot of the local charities overall.”

In addition to Victory House, Galati noted that Rock Garden regularly supports Headwaters Health Care Centre, Bethell House Hospice, Family Transition Place and the local food bank.

Galati told the Citizen the whole team at Rock Garden Farms is very grateful to the community for their support, as they wouldn’t be able to make the donations that they do otherwise.

“As people continue to support me, I can continue to support the community,” said Galati. “I’m just honored to be able to support all the greatly needed things – there’s always a need.”

Rock Garden Farms is a family-run business that’s been at the same location on Airport Road for 33 years, while the family’s been selling in Caledon for around 40, with Galati’s grandparents and children involved.

“It’s ‘Three Generations One Passion’ – that’s our motto,” she said.

“It’s great to be a part of the community. To be here running a business, as a family. We all love what we do.”

Being a community-minded business, Rock Garden Farms stocks its shelves with produce from local farmers and Ontario based producers, in addition to what they grow on their 88-acre farm themselves.

The store is also well known for its sauces, jams, and lasagna that’s made in-house.

“If people are looking for homemade products, we’ve got them covered,” Galati noted.

Anyone looking to do some strawberry picking should also stop by Rock Garden Farms.

The activity started up on June 16 and will run for three weeks. The strawberry patch is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Galati encourages anyone who’s looking to get out of the house and enjoy a safe activity while COVID-19 restrictions continue, to stop by Rock Garden Farms for some strawberry picking.

To learn more about the business and everything it has to offer, visit: www.rockgardenfarms.ca.