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- Valley East Youth Centre May Receive
A Financial Boost From National Organization
- Job Connect Centre Opens Up New
Office in Valley East To Help Local Residents Search For Meaningful
Employment
- Education Travel
Group Hosts Penny Sale To Raise Funds For Trip To Italy In Spring of
2007
- Capreol Child Care Centre
Celebrates 10th Anniversary With Special Open House Event
- Teens Are Starting To Realize That
The Valley East Youth Centre Is A Place They Can Call Their Own
- Acrobat Results Marketing Looking
To Expand Workforce With New Hires From Valley East And Capreol
- Shelley Martel
Takes Part In Child Find KIDCHECK FINGERPRINT ID Program
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| Valley East Youth Centre May Receive
A Financial Boost From National Organization |
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Darlene Hillier, Vice-Chair of the Valley East Youth Centre's Board of
Directors, shown in the middle of the photo, was very optimistic about the
future of the Centre after meeting with representatives of Town Youth
Participation Stategies (TYPS).
Dale Pearson, on the left, is the Project Co-ordinator and Kevin Morris
is Director of TYPS.
Town Youth Participation Strategies works with individual youth, youth
centres, youth councils and other youth serving organizations, providing
support and resources which will enable them to fulfill their mandates and
missions.
TYPS is a registered charity, relying on membership fees and donations to
fund its activities and projects. Individual memberships cost $25 while the
annual fee for organizations such as the Valley East Youth Centre is $250.
Pearson and Morris were meeting with Darlene to discuss the procedure for
accessing a $1000 Tobacco Grant which is being given to the organization for
producing a short video clip designed to promote avoidance of smoking among
youth.
The Valley East Youth Centre has also qualified for a $10,000
Sustainability Grant from TYPS. The grant would be a tremendous boost for
the Centre according to Darlene. "It would allow us to get through the
winter and even hire some part-time staff so that we can keep the Centre
open on another day. Right now we are only open Fridays from 6 to 10 p.m.,
but the grant would allow us to open on Saturdays as well."
Hillier sees this as a stepping-stone to the future for the "longest
serving youth centre in Ontario".
"We were created as a provincially-funded organization in
1982," explained Hillier. "We were open seven days a week with a
full-time staff of three. The Valley East Youth Centre was the springboard
for all of the other Youth Centres in the region. Once funding was pulled in
1995 we've faced an uphill battle to keep going."
Hillier and Susan Johnston, Chair of the Valley East Youth Centre Board
of Directors, are hopeful that the new City Council will see fit to increase
the funding that is allocated to the Youth Centre, which currently receives
only $2400 per year, plus the use of the City-owned facility which was once
housed the Valley East Parks and Recreation Department.
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| Job Connect Centre Opens Up New
Office in Valley East To Help Local Residents Search For Meaningful
Employment |
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Sylvia Barnard, President of Cambrian College, and Denis Hubert, President
of College Boreal, together with Job Connect representatives, officially
opened a new Job Connect centre in the Val Est Mall in Valley East on
November 9, 2006. The centre in Valley East is one of two new Job Connect
sites in Greater Sudbury that bridge the gap between individuals seeking
employment and employers seeking personnel. The other Job Connect centre,
located in the Place Bonaventure Mall in Chelmsford, officially opened on
October 19, 2006.
The Job Connect centre provides bilingual, convenient, and accessible
employment services and is staffed from Cambrian College and College Boreal,
who are partners in the initiative.
Funded by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, the Job
Connect centre provides free access to job search tools and career
information; information on apprenticeships, occupations, and the labour
market; and workshops on job search strategies and interview
preparation.
Participants in the official ribbon cutting ceremony included, from the
left: France Belanger-Houle, Chef de Connexion Emploi; Sylvia Barnard,
President of Cambrian College; Maryse Lavoie, Consultant, Skills Development
Branch, Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities; Denis Hubert,
President of College Boreal; Sue Ferguson, Chair of Job Connect; Richard
Jolivet, General Manager, Canadian Tire, Valley East; and Pat Cameron, an
employee of Quik Lube in Hanmer.
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 Pat
Cameron, on the left, provided an impassioned speech about how he was able
to utilize the services of Job Connect to get his career planning on track.
"I made a lot of mistakes when I was young," Pat explained.
"I fell in with the wrong crowd and ended up quitting high school.
Eventually I found out that you just can't make it in this life without a
proper education, so I turned to Job Connect for help."
Cameron, who is married with a three-year old son, obtained his Grade 12
upgrading and is now training for a career in Mobile Electronics.
"I am not sure where I would be now if it was not for the
professional help I received from the staff at Job Connect.
Richard Jolivet, General Manager of the new Valley East Canadian Tire
explained how Job Connect helped the company recruit employees for the new
site. "Job Connect took in all of the applications and then sorted out
the top 200 prospects. They conducted interviews over four days and came up
with out staff. We would not hesitate to use their services again in the
future.
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| Education Travel
Group Hosts Penny Sale To Raise Funds For Trip To Italy In Spring of
2007 |
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Shandi Charette is shown taking care of the Penny Table for the Educational
Travel Club which consists of students from Grades 7 to 12 who are preparing for a special
educational trip to Italy in March 2007. The penny table was held on the
weekend of October 20 to 22, 2006 and contained many spectacular prizes.
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| Capreol Child Care Centre
Celebrates 10th Anniversary With Special Open House Event |
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 Early
Childhood Educator, Lori Major, is shown working with her five
“toddlers” during a drawing activity in one of the spacious classrooms
at St. Mary’s Catholic School which have been used by the Capreol Child
Care Centre since it opened in 1996. The
Capreol Child Care Centre also operates out of
C.R.
Judd
Public School
, providing children from the community with an opportunity to make an easy
transition from the day care setting to Junior Kindergarten when the time
comes at the age of four.
The
two centers provide a total of seventy-five (75) child care spaces for
children ages eighteen months to twelve years old. Families come from
Capreol, Hanmer, Val Caron,
Sudbury
and other localities.
Executive
Director, Mary Chernenko, is quick to give credit to the team of loyal and
devoted staff who have given so much over the years and to the volunteers
who serve on the Board of Directors. “We
have taken steps to reduce the struggle between career and parental
obligations by offering very flexible child care hours, operating from seven
days a week opening from six a.m. to six p.m. and even accommodating parents
who work late in the evening or weekend when requested and feasible. We’re
also proud to say that we have never had a waiting list due to the
school’s availability of classrooms to expand our center if and when
needed.”
The
Capreol Child Care Centre is nonprofit and fully licensed establishment and
follows the stringent guidelines and requirements set out by the Ministry.
“We offer the full range of programs you would expect to find at any
licensed child care center,” Mary explained. “Through the Best Start
Plan we facilitate educational programs in conjunction with school programs
offering alternate full day junior kindergarten programs. We have before and
after school programs. We continue to work with the City of
Greater Sudbury
to promote school readiness programs with nominal or no fees for parents.”
With
respect to cost, the Capreol Child Care Centre offers child care at a lower
cost than many other day cares in order to appeal to larger families. “We
are the only nonprofit day care center that offers 30% child care discount
for families with two or more children. Subsidies are also available from
the City of
Greater Sudbury
for low income families who qualify.”
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The public was
invited to attend the Capreol Child Care Centre’s Tenth Year Anniversary
Kids Party on
Saturday, October 21, 2006
from
9:00 a.m.
to
12:30 p.m.
at the St. Mary’s School site on
Meehan Street
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This was an an opportunity for parents to tour our facility and talk to
our qualified instructors.
As you can see from the photos in this article, there was a yard
sale, games, balloons, crafts and face painting. A
fantastic kid’s show was featured at
10:00 a.m.
put on by “The Stylanders” from
Toronto
. The outdoor barbecue provided plenty of hot dogs and sausages plus plenty
of refreshments and donuts on hand at
11:30 a.m.
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 Mary,
the entire staff and Board of Directors want to thank the hundreds of people
who have supported the center over the years. “We could not have done it
without you and we are glad that so many of you were able to stop by and
enjoy our anniversary celebrations.
Two of the young people helping out at the barbecue are graduates of the
Capreol Child Care Centre. They are Stephanie Wilson and Trevor Lambovich,
both attending Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic School in Hanmer.
If you have any questions about the Capreol Child Care Centre contact
Mary Chernenko at 26 Meehan Street in Capreol or call her at (705) 858-0651.
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| Teens Are Starting To Realize That
The Valley East Youth Centre Is A Place They Can Call Their Own |
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Susan Johnston was elated on the evening
of October 13 when about two dozen teens from the area dropped in to take
part in a special social evening at the Valley East Youth Centre.
For Susan, who has seen both the highs and
the lows during the 25 years she has been involved with the Centre, it was
music to her ears to listen to the young people filling the rooms with
laughter and conversation.
Today, as Chairperson for the Board of
Directors, Sue finds herself facing an uphill battle to keep the centre
open. At the present time the facility is open to youth on Friday evenings
only, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
She is hopeful that a new City Council may
place a higher priority on youth and will perhaps provide sufficient
funding so that she can once again hire two staff and keep the facility
open five days a week.
 Darleen Hillier,
shown on the right, the only other active Board member with the Valley
East Youth Centre along with Susan Johnson, is convinced that they can
once again bring the Youth Centre back to where it was when it was at the
height of its popularity.
"Many people have given up on the Valley East Youth Centre, but
Susan and I just wouldn't throw in the towel. We are going to keep
fighting and plugging away to keep this Centre open and provide young
people with a place where they can have some good, wholesome entertainment
and meet with their friends."
Mike and Nicole Savoie, of Hanmer, were parents who had heard all kinds
of bad things about the Valley East Youth Centre. "When we told some
of our friends that our son wanted to go to the Youth Centre, they warned
us to keep him away. We told them that we were not just going to drop him
off, but that we were going to visit the place and check it out first. Now
that we've seen the place and met with Susan and Darlene, we are very
happy with what we saw."
In fact, both Mike and Nicole have offered to volunteer to help out in
any way possible to ensure that the Centre continues to function. "If
you have any negative perceptions of the Valley East Youth Centre, all you
have to do is visit it once and your perceptions will change,"
indicated Nicole, who is a teacher at Ecole Secondaire Hanmer.
We took a few pictures of the young people in their activities at the
Centre. Click here to see some of those photos
>>>>
The City of Greater Sudbury owns the building, so that is at least
helping to keep the Youth Centre going with volunteers such as Sue
Johnston. However, it is likely going to be up to the Corporate Sector to
step in with private sector funding if this community is going to continue
to have a Youth Centre much longer.
The Valley East Youth Centre needs the help of the community. If anyone
is interested in stepping forward, call and leave a message for Sue
Johnston. She is willing to listen to anyone who is in a position to help
out. And right now, Sue could sure use a helping hand.
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| Acrobat Results Marketing Looking
To Expand Workforce With New Hires From Valley East And Capreol |
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Margaret Richer, left, and Cecile Labelle, two Customer Care
Representatives with Acrobat Results Marketing of Capreol, were on hand at
the Hanmer Valley Shopping Centre from September 22 to 24, 2006 conducting a
Mini - Job
Fair in hopes of recruiting new employees for their company.
Cecile, who has been with the firm since it opened some six years ago,
explained that this is one of the best jobs she has ever had, "I just
love it because we don't do any selling. All we do is conduct surveys and
collect data on just about anything you can think of. Most of our calls
are to places outside of Canada, but we have done surveys and polls for
local businesses and politicians."
Margaret, who has been with the company for three years, went on,
"It is such a nice place to work. Everyone gets along with each other
and the company really treats us fairly. Our boss, Beth Depatie, who is a
Vice President of Acrobat, in charge of Field Operations in Capreol, is so
nice to work for. She really cares about her employees and does everything
she can to be accommodating."
The starting rate for interviewers is $8.50 for the Day Shift (9 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m.) and $8.00 for the Night Shift (5:15 p.m. to 12 a.m.). Both
Cecile and Margaret point out that there are plenty of opportunities for
advancement and with the performance incentives the actual wage can be
much higher. In addition, there is so much work lined up that the company
must hire more people to complement its staff which is already close to
100 employees.
The best thing of all is that Acrobat Results Marketing offers flexible
scheduling done on a weekly basis so that you can work as few as three
evenings a week to work around other commitments. This is an excellent job
for a student or someone looking for part-time employment to supplement
another full-time job.
If you are interested in finding out more about this employment
opportunity, call (705) 858-4343.
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| Shelley Martel
Takes Part In Child Find KIDCHECK FINGERPRINT ID Program |
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Over 13,500 children were fingerprinted at hundreds of "KidCheck
ID" sessions held throughout Ontario, annually. One such event was held
during the 2006 Valley East Lions Charity Days on September 9 at the
Centennial Arena.
The group of friendly, trained and police-screened volunteers above
conducted the session. From the left they are: Lynne Oldfield, Kim
Stanfield, Vicki Hood, Shelley Martel MPP, and Luc Joliat.
In the photo above, Shelley Martel is shown with three young children
from the Millette family who have decided to take part in the program.
Seated in the stroller is three year old, Evan. Beside him is his five year
old sister, Natalie. The two of them are watching their big sister, Jasmine
get her fingerprints done on the "All About Me ID" card.
 The "All
About Me ID" document guides parents through a profile of information
on their child's medical, dental and school history and other important
information. This package is kept on file by the legal parent/guardian to
provide details for the family and the police should a child be reported
missing.
At the right we see Natasha Millette filling out important information on
each the documents that have been prepared for her three children. Natasha
will keep them in a safe place in case, heaven forbid, they are ever needed
in an emergency.
You can find out more by visiting the web site at www.ontario.childfind.ca
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