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INUVIK
The final push is on in the fundraising campaign for the new Children's First Centre.

Melinda Gillis, chair of the Children First Society, celebrated March 5 as the organization closed in on the final push toward its fundraising goal. - T. Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

The organization, with the help of government donations, has raised just more than $5.6 million of the $6.5 million it needs for the centre.

A $500,000 grant from the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) announced two weeks ago has sweetened the pot for the campaign.

"That was superimportant," Melinda Gillis, chair of the Children First Society, said, "because this is a volunteer-run organization, and it's about eight years in the works. It helps that it's a big lump sum of money that we can put toward the centre. We don't have to personally fundraise it ourselves.

"We thank CanNor and minister Aglukkaq for recognizing the positive impact quality early childhood education can have on a community and its economy," she said. "We are all making an investment in the future success of our kids."

About $2.5 million has been raised locally, which Gillis said "is a lot of money for a small community to rally up."

The Children First Centre will combine four early childhood centres in Inuvik, providing 120 childcare spaces.

"We've gotten a lot of support locally and territorially," she said. "Those are huge amounts of money. The town has put in $2.3 million. We also got the $1.1 million from the GNWT. We're 90 per cent there, with just a small leap to go to get finished."

Gillis said the centre's expected opening date is sometime in June, since the project is now ahead of schedule, which is good news in a community strapped for child-care facilities.

"The centre was a huge undertaking by some parents who saw a need for early childhood education," she said.

"They saw the need for a better facility, and we definitely didn't know for a while where we were going to go with that.

"Inuvik Child Development Centre (ICDC) used to run in Samuel Hearne Secondary School, who, as you know, is now shut down and moved to East Three. ICDC followed and is there in temporary space. Tot Spot is another group that was having difficulty in finding a location in our community, and the Inuvik pre-school was in a small building behind Sam's (Samuel Hearne school)."

Children First is an umbrella group for all of those organizations, Gillis said. The other groups will cease operations and amalgamate once the new centre is ready.

"Soon, they will cease to exist and come together as one Children First Society."

The centre will serve children from one year old to grades 3 or 4, Gillis said.

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