The Grand Opening of Humboldt’s Early Years Family Resource Centre (HEYFRC) took place on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

The centre, made to promote learning from ages 0-5, was created in partnership with the Horizon School Division and Partners Family Services.

The grand opening started with a prayer and smudge from Elder Stuart Bitternose from George Gordon First Nation, followed by a statement from Finance Minister and MLA Donna Harpauer.

“Community starts with a strong family, and strong families make strong communities, so that's why this resource centre is so important for this community.”

Deputy Mayor Larry Jorgensen then took the stand to express his enthusiasm for the new centre.

“We are very fortunate to be living in one of the more prosperous areas of the province, and with prosperity comes growth, and with growth comes more people, obviously, so we’re going to need more and more of these supports. It’s great to see the Horizon School Division and Partners gather together to create this facility, and hopefully there will be more of them to come.”

Kevin Garinger, Director of Education for the Horizon School Division, was excited to present the family resource centre.

“I don’t think we can underestimate the impact [the Humboldt’s Early Years Family Resource Centre] is going to have on Humboldt and Area. We know that early childhood development sets a foundation for lifelong learning. It sets the foundation for behaviour and health. We know play is how children master their environments, and how they test things and satisfy their curiosity. This natural drive for play mirrors another, equally important life skill, and that’s resiliancy. The experience these children have in early childhood shapes their brains and capacity to learn, to get along with others, and respond to daily stresses and challenges. We’ve certainly experienced our fair share over these last number of years. Simply put, today's early years programming will contribute to tomorrow's healthy, well adjusted, and confident adults.”

Garinger recommends visiting the HEYFRC website to see all the benefits of visiting the resource centre.

There’s more to come in part 2 of this series.