Ignace fund helps centre to help others

The Township of Ignace's Community Well-Being Fund has received $30,000 from the Nuclear Waste Management Organization and has handed it over to the Mary Berglund Community Health Centre Hub. Heidi West, the health centre hub's executive director, said the site located on Beaver Street in Ignace, is in dire need of renovation and expansion. "Our community recently lost Alterna Savings Union, which we had rented space from in the rear of the building for many years," West said. "This precipitated the need to find another location for our food bank. We are fortunate in that we do own a building where we had our Community Carousel (used clothing and housewares) and with much help from volunteers, we have been able to relocate our food bank into a shared space with the Carousel." She said this is the site that needs renovation and expansion. "The furnace was very old and needed to be replaced. We have since done a furnace and duct work replacement with this funding," she said. The next step is to create a small kitchen in the building, aimed at enhancing healthy eating and local food knowledge, stretching food dollars, and building community. "We would like to create a warm and welcoming space where there is opportunity for our most vulnerable to have a safe space to gather," she said. The Regional Food Distribution Association, based in Thunder Bay, has committed to working with the community to create a regional food packing and distribution centre, which will benefit the local food bank and the community. Like most Northern Ontario community help centres, the Mary Berglund centre continues to grow and serve more people each month. Building upgrade plans have been an ongoing project for several years. West says there has been a new roof and windows installed, painting and other smaller cosmetic upgrades with the continued search for potential grants or funding to provide an opportunity for expansion. "Although the Mary Berglund Community Health Centre is not obligated or funded to oversee a local food bank, we have decided to continue to do so in the best interests of the community and for the many citizens that are not quite so fortunate as others," West said. "We rely entirely on volunteers and donations to maintain the service to which we are committed long term and we depend on support such as a community well-being fund to assist in special times of need." The Township of Ignace's funding agreement with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization has two streams. The near-term investment fund is geared toward bigger infrastructure programs like the purchase of a fire truck. The community well-being fund is applicable for charitable organizations in the community such as the Mary Berglund Centre and for things that the council can utilize to make the community better for everyone.

Sandi Krasowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Chronicle-Journal