NEWS RELEASE
TIMMINS LEARNING CENTRE
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The Timmins Learning Centre has moved to a new location! After over a decade of being located on Third Avenue in downtown Timmins, the Centre has moved to the old Timmins Financial building at the corner of Algonquin Boulevard West and Cameron Street South, near Shoppers Drug Mart. The grand opening of the new location was held on Nov. 10 in partnership with the Timmins Chamber.
“This larger space has allowed us to grow both our adult LBS program and our children’s tutoring program to serve more learners than ever before,” said Genevieve Lemieux, executive director of the Timmins Learning Centre (TLC). “Our children’s program especially has seen a huge increase in the number of children needing support due to the pandemic and the difficulties with virtual learning.”
According to Statistics Canada, 25 per cent of people in Timmins aged 15 years and older do not have a high school diploma or equivalency certificate. The Timmins Learning Centre is a charitable organization that works to address this problem by helping individuals and families reach their full potential through its two main programs: a Literacy and Basic Skills (LBS) program that helps adults ages 19+ to improve their reading, writing, math, and computer skills for work, further education or independence, and the Homework Club, a bilingual children’s program that provides one-to-one private tutoring for children in Grades 1-12 who face difficulty in school with reading, writing, and/or math. The TLC just wrapped up their English as a Second Language classes, a pilot program funded by a Seed Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations.
In addition to a new location, the organization also has a new logo, thanks to Capacity Canada’s Creative Day for Social Good. “A talented team of students from Conestoga College and their mentors designed the new logo and we couldn’t be more pleased with the result!” said Madison Mizzau, chair of the Board of Directors for TLC. “With its hands of different sizes and many coloured leaves, our new logo embodies our vision of lifelong learning and the numerous community partners we work with to achieve our mission.”
Building on these exciting changes, the Timmins Learning Centre recently launched their Sponsor a Child’s Learning Campaign to raise $20,000 for the Homework Club, a goal that will help over 80 children and their families access the support they need to build valuable literacy skills. Since 2010, the program has helped over 1,000 students from all four local school boards.
“The children’s Homework Club is not government funded and we rely on donations in order to provide this much-needed program in the community,” said Lemieux. “We offer our children's program to families at a low cost to ensure that every child, no matter their circumstance, gets the opportunity to succeed.”
This year the Sponsor a Child’s Learning Campaign coincides with Giving Tuesday, a global day of generosity that takes place each year after Black Friday. Happening on Nov. 30 this year, Giving Tuesday is an opportunity for people to come together, give back and create real change in their community.
Individuals and businesses can donate to the Timmins Learning Centre online here or by contacting [email protected]. Charitable tax receipts are provided.
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