Best Start Manitouwadge Hub Official Opening At New Location
Lachance seemed quite happy to indulge on young friend's request for an evening 'Circle Time' and within minutes the whole group was having fun dancing along to action songs. Photos OntarioNewsNorth.com
MANITOUWADGE, ON – Yesterday evening, September 25th, approximately a 1/2 dozen parents accompanied by their children attending the official opening of the Best Start Manitouwadge Hub in it’s new location in Room 18 (lower level) of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School on Flicker Street.
The Best Start Centre (a.k.a. Best Start Manitouwadge Hub) is a great place for caregivers and their children to spend time. Activities encourage and enhance parent/child relationships, promote early learning and development and provide an opportunity for people to meet and socialize with other families.
Program Coordinator Kristy Lachance and Program Assistant Lisa Schut were in attendance to answer questions relating to the new location and upcoming programs; unfortunately Prenatal Programmer Joanne Paris (who resides in Marathon) was not present.
The new location consists of one main room for programming purposes which is larger and, with several large windows on one wall allowing in plenty of natural light, significantly brighter than the centre’s previous accommodations on Oshweeken Street. Lachance’s new office is directly off the main room, a major improvement on the previous situation where her office was secluded on a separate floor from the main programming room. The Hub still has it’s own bathroom accessible from the main room.
Perhaps the most significant and beneficial change for the Hub is that it is now accessible for those with physical dissabilities or parents using strollers as the building has an key-operated elevator which Lachance was excited about “It will be very helpful and convenient for parents with sleeping children in strollers” said Lachance. The only down-side in regards to the elevator is, because it is key operated, anyone
needing to use it when arriving must make prior arrangements with Lachance or another one of the programmers to have them waiting upstairs with the key. Irregardless of of how inconvenient or even slightly embarrassing this may be for someone needing to use it, the fact that the centre is now accessible is a major improvement and allows it to truly be a centre for ALL families in Manitouwadge to use.
If you would like to visit the centre or are interested in learning more about programming offered there, you can contact Kristy, Lisa or Joanne at: (807) 826-2333 OR drop-in for a visit during regular hours (see callout above).
-
- Lachance seemed quite happy to indulge on young friend’s request for an evening ‘Circle Time’ and within minutes the whole group was having fun dancing along to action songs. Photos OntarioNewsNorth.com
