THUNDER BAY - The building formerly belonging to Ron’s Virtual World has now turned into something very different.
The Centre Francophone’s grand opening took place on Friday, with roughly 100 members of the region’s francophone community on hand.
The centre will provide services in French for various services, including assistance with the healthcare system, improving literacy skills, assisting women victims of sexual assault, and developing services for seniors.
“In our mind, the project started in 2007,” said Claudette Gleeson, the president of Centre Francophone.
“We owned a building on Court Street, but it was a lot smaller, and we had room to offer more services.”
Despite the relatively small francophone population that’s present in Thunder Bay, the group grew in size to the point where they needed a change of scenery.
“We were such a small minority, that the only way we could actually survive was by sticking together,” Gleeson said. “This centre is very symbolic for us.”
The centre will offer a service where French-speaking members of the community can congregate, the first of its kind in the region.
Funding for the building came from several grant applications, and a fundraising campaign which raised $77,000 in just eight months.
MP Bill Mauro, who was on hand to speak at the event, said the opening “celebrates an important role the francophone community plays in our region.”
