July 1, 2022 · 0 Comments
On Thursday, June 23, Next Step Literacy – offering free one-to-one tutoring for adults in reading, math, and computers in a confidential and supportive environment – hosted an open house in celebration of the occasion of its grand re-opening at 16 Victoria Street East in Alliston.
“We are celebrating the official re-opening of Next Step after extensive façade renovations, including the inclusion of an accessible front door,” said Shira Harrison McIntyre, Executive Director for Next Step Literacy. “We have completely rebuilt the front entrance, increased the size of the front door, installed new large plate glass windows, and installed new doors – to the tune of about $54,000, with work undertaken by Silvercrest, a local company, with electrical work by Dell Electric.”
Next Step receives funding from the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development for the majority of its programs, but relies on fundraising to provide services to its clients – not covered by any provincial grant. The bulk of the renovation costs were not covered either.
“The renovation was a long time coming,” said Harrison McIntyre. “For those who don’t recall, the old façade included some stone veneer over the old brick, vinyl siding and small windows at the top that prevented people from seeing in or out. While this provided privacy, it did not fit with the streetscape of the old downtown, nor did it allow passersby any idea of what was going on inside the building. And it was out of date and not accessible. We want our clients to feel when comfortable when they come to Next Step, and this renovation accomplishes that and a lot more.”
For the renovation, Next Step did receive some funds from the Ministry of Labour, Training & Skills Development towards the accessible features. They also received funds from the Town of New Tecumseth, through a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) grant.
“The remainder was money that had been raised via fundraising, mostly through our Grate Groan-Up Spelling Bees,” said Harrison McIntyre. “While we haven’t been able to have a fundraiser for three years, we had been planning this renovation for a while so we had some funds set aside.”
In addition to Harrison McIntyre, Executive Director; Next Step staff is Bernie Pitts, Training and Development Manager; and Natasja Verhaar, Administration and Training Assistant. It is governed by a Board of Directors, currently: President Michael Laine, Treasurer/Secretary Peter McKenna and Directors Ha Glas, Jill Jones, Loralie Clemmensen, Constance Boldt, Jan Atkinson and Rick Vender.
Next Step Literacy is open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. For more information visit nextstepliteracy.ca or call 705 435-5624, text 705 896-9928 or email info@nextstepliteracy.ca
“We are always looking to spread the word on the free adult tutoring we provide,” said Harrison McIntyre. “We are looking for new tutors, sponsors and of course, new students.”
By Wendy Gabrek