Red Cross volunteer Jan Barnes is quite taken with the new digs.
“I think it’s amazing,’’ she says of the building that houses the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management and Training Centre in Charlottetown.
“I’ve been to other Red Cross facilities and they are nothing like this.’’
Barnes of St. Peters Bay is learning how to operate a disaster shelter - a skill that could see the volunteer head anywhere in Canada to deal with a crisis like an ice storm, flood or major fire that displaces many people.
She says the new facility has the space and all the bells and whistles needed to get the job done.
Barnes and her husband, Brad, also a Red Cross volunteer, were on hand Friday for the grand opening of the building that is now the hub for community health and safety programs that benefit the public throughout the province.
Several dignitaries were among a large crowd Friday that filed into the building that first opened in late September.
“Throughout our province and across the country, teams of dedicated Red Cross volunteers are always there when Canadians need them most,’’ said Shea.
“Our government was pleased to assist the Red Cross to better meet its needs and provide its many valuable programs and services to Islanders.’’
Among features of the new location at 29 Paramount Drive are convenient accessibility and parking, a well-equipped Disaster Operations Centre, more room for volunteer training and administration, equipment storage, improved telecommunications and auxiliary power. It replaces a three-storey Victorian-era house on Prince Street that had been the P.E.I. headquarters of the Canadian Red Cross for more than 70 years but whose heritage designation precluded any major expansion or renovation.
The Government of Canada, through ACOA’s Business Development Program, contributed $350,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to create a new Disaster Management and Training Centre. The Government of Prince Edward Island, through the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development supported the project with a $300,000 contribution.
The new facility will improve Red Cross coordination of its disaster responses and its ability to meet a goal of doubling the number of trained disaster volunteers from the current 65 to as many as 125 in the next few years.
“A driving force behind this new facility was the trend to more frequent and complex disasters generally in Canada and the fact that an island province like P.E.I. can be more prone to severe weather and needs a certain degree of self-sufficiency since weather could delay outside help,” said John L. Byrne, Director General of Disaster Management with the Canadian Red Cross.
For more information on Canadian Red Cross services to Islanders, visit redcross.ca/pei.
Red Cross volunteer Jan Barnes is quite taken with the new digs.
“I think it’s amazing,’’ she says of the building that houses the Canadian Red Cross Disaster Management and Training Centre in Charlottetown.
“I’ve been to other Red Cross facilities and they are nothing like this.’’
Barnes of St. Peters Bay is learning how to operate a disaster shelter - a skill that could see the volunteer head anywhere in Canada to deal with a crisis like an ice storm, flood or major fire that displaces many people.
She says the new facility has the space and all the bells and whistles needed to get the job done.
Barnes and her husband, Brad, also a Red Cross volunteer, were on hand Friday for the grand opening of the building that is now the hub for community health and safety programs that benefit the public throughout the province.
Several dignitaries were among a large crowd Friday that filed into the building that first opened in late September.
“Throughout our province and across the country, teams of dedicated Red Cross volunteers are always there when Canadians need them most,’’ said Shea.
“Our government was pleased to assist the Red Cross to better meet its needs and provide its many valuable programs and services to Islanders.’’
Among features of the new location at 29 Paramount Drive are convenient accessibility and parking, a well-equipped Disaster Operations Centre, more room for volunteer training and administration, equipment storage, improved telecommunications and auxiliary power. It replaces a three-storey Victorian-era house on Prince Street that had been the P.E.I. headquarters of the Canadian Red Cross for more than 70 years but whose heritage designation precluded any major expansion or renovation.
The Government of Canada, through ACOA’s Business Development Program, contributed $350,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to create a new Disaster Management and Training Centre. The Government of Prince Edward Island, through the Department of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Rural Development supported the project with a $300,000 contribution.
The new facility will improve Red Cross coordination of its disaster responses and its ability to meet a goal of doubling the number of trained disaster volunteers from the current 65 to as many as 125 in the next few years.
“A driving force behind this new facility was the trend to more frequent and complex disasters generally in Canada and the fact that an island province like P.E.I. can be more prone to severe weather and needs a certain degree of self-sufficiency since weather could delay outside help,” said John L. Byrne, Director General of Disaster Management with the Canadian Red Cross.
For more information on Canadian Red Cross services to Islanders, visit redcross.ca/pei.
