Dear Editor,
We are lucky in Flin Flon to have so many great community organizations. These non-profit groups provide services that help each of us stay active and feel connected to our community, and the tireless staff and volunteers who work for our non-profit groups are there to make our community a better place.
As your MLA, I make it one of my top priorities to promote these organizations and the great work that they do. One of the ways our NDP government supports community organizations is through programs like Manitoba’s Community Places Program.
The Community Places Program (CPP) provides non-profit groups with funding to construct, expand, upgrade or buy the space they need to carry out their work. In the past, groups that received grants have included parent councils, child care centres, curling clubs, community halls and rural municipalities.
This past year many different Flin Flon organizations received grants through the CPP. Camp Whitney received a grant to make improvements to King’s Trail, the Flin Flon Curling Club received a grant to upgrade the main entrance and the club room flooring and the École McIsaac School parent council received funding to help renovate and transform their playground. A total of just over $23,000 in grant money was approved for Flin Flon organizations in 2014.
And that’s not all. Last year our public library received a grant to install accessible doors, so that everyone can easily visit the library. Also, the City of Flin Flon Parks and Recreation Commission was able to replace the walking track at the Whitney Forum with help from a CPP grant. Over $64,000.00 in grants were approved in 2013.
Organizations must submit straight-forward yet detailed applications to the CPP to be eligible to receive a grant. Writing these, as well as planning a successful building project, can be intimidating to even the most experienced community worker.
To help make this part of the process easier, CPP is putting on a workshop right here in Flin Flon to walk potential applicants through the process.
The workshop is being held tomorrow, Thursday, October 30, from 1-4 pm. It will be held at Community Futures Greenstone at 228-35 Main Street. I hope to be able to get out to this workshop to meet with those of you who work so hard to improve our community.
If you have any questions about the Community Places Program, or anything else, feel free to get in contact with me by calling 204-687-3367, by email at flinflon1@yourmanitoba.ca or by visiting my office at 33 Church St. in Flin Flon.
