A special ceremony celebrates 30 years of Life Spin

A beautiful ceremony with Indigenous traditions, including a sacred fire, was held at the Life Spin building in London, Ont. to celebrate 30 years of service.

"My heart is bursting right now just seeing all the folks here,” said Life Spin Executive Director and Co-founder Jacqueline Thompson.

Life Spin is a registered charity that prides itself on helping support the low-income community become self-sufficient.

"One of the things we did was purchase this building, and it provides housing, it provides space for the food store, it provides space for our nutrition programs, events, pregnancy fairs, senior fairs. It’s a happening place, " explained Thompson.

Thompson was presented with the community service award from the London Fire Department, along with a recognition from London North Centre MPP Terence Kernaghan.

A memory tree was placed at the entrance to a memory garden, with messages from attendees about what Life Spin means to their personal journey.

Nicole Davis knows firsthand how the charity can impact someone’s life.

"I went from, you know, a struggling mom on welfare, to an employee at Life Spin Throughout that time, I went through my journey through university, Life Spin was here for me every step of the way,” said Davis.

One of the highlight’s from Saturday's ceremony was the burning of the mortgage papers.

"We own the building now. As of September, all the mortgages are paid off, so we are going to light them up,” said Thompson.