Photo/ Grande Prairie Council for Lifelong Learning / Facebook

By Courtney Almeida

Celebration

Grande Prairie Council for Lifelong Learning celebrating 35th anniversary

May 11, 2019 | 7:00 AM

This year marks the 35^th anniversary of the Grande Prairie Council for Lifelong Learning. To celebrate, various events are being planned, including a Celebration of Success on June 14 at the Montrose Cultural Centre.

The Grande Prairie Council for Lifelong Learning provides adults in the community with learning opportunities such as GED Exam Prep, English courses, computer skills, volunteer tutoring, financial literacy teachings and more.

The group works to address public needs and help adults advance through in-course participation to reach their personal goals.

“We are a hub of immigration in Grande Prairie, so a lot of people see that we have English language learning or English as a Second Language learning, but we also offer Law workshops and a number of other types of learning as well,” says David Olinger, Board Chair of the Grande Prairie Council for Lifelong Learning.

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The group takes a specialized focus on providing support to assist new Canadians. Olinger explains that, “for those who are coming from other countries, it’s a comfortable spot because many other students are also from other countries, but we also serve people from the general population as well.”

The Lifelong Learning council has organized programming within the Swan City since 1984. Last year, they supported 215 learners through their range in offered programs.

“They may not be quite prepared or have the literacy skills to adapt to the changing workforce. They get that opportunity to upgrade their skills and not only their skills but their confidence and their ability to do that.”

In this milestone year of operation, the council which is governed by a 12- member board and 13 member staff is also celebrating their new status as a recognized charity.

They are one of 130 Community Adult Learning Programs in Alberta. “The vast majority of our funding occurs through the province of Alberta and some grants included through the City of Grande Prairie and what this does, is it allows us to reach out to and broaden our fundraising scope,” said Olinger.

For the third time, a Community Consultation event is also being planned by the council, scheduled to take place in October.

“We reach out to the community and our stakeholders to kind of get a pulse on the community as to what their needs are in terms of adult learning so that we are offering the most up to date programming that we can. We don’t want to assume that we know exactly what the community needs.”

Regarding the upcoming Celebration of Success on June 14, Olinger says that, “it’s in part a 35^th anniversary celebration but also, we are recognizing the success of students as well.”

To learn more about programming offered by the Grande Prairie Council for Lifelong Learning visit their website here.