10 = Counseling
ox crisis situations, helping women
t find reliable daycare, providing |

Women’s Centre celebrates
aa pack at 1

SIs. IMPOSSIBLE. t to. measure |

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= the impact: the Terrace Women’s
= Resource” ‘Centre has ‘had on the
= Women .~-of © our: : community.
‘women’ . through

- job taining and more °—

: Volunteers and staff at the centre

= have helped Terrace women for
s 15 years,

» lates the women’s centre on its
; 15th anniversary this month.
Since October is also Women’s
» History Month, it seemed like -a
1» good time to take a look back at
the past 15 5 years.

1980.

“Welcome to the first Terrace

: Women’s Newsletter. 1980 was a

4 year of firsts for local women and
for the centre, and incredibly
1981 looks even better,” Sher

Morgan: and -Pat Grant wrote in.

January of 1981. “The purpose of
this newsletter is to share the
news, and, as importantly, to
create and maintain a communi-
cation. link, The Terrace

Women’s ‘Growth’ Centre was.

bom in January of 1979 when.
four women were’ hired through
, Manpower with a Canada Works
“grant: (Francis Birdsell, Carol
Bell,’ Patti ‘Wright and Jeanette
- Miyagawa),
“Tt would be appropriate at this
point -to- explain just what ‘the
‘Women’s Centre is, but the best

“ we can do is glauce backward to

trace what iywe have become,
{Support service ‘is a phrase

- that comes. “Mp a lot. We have a
sign which at our Lazelle Avenue
location: which says Drop In

The Terrace Standard congratu-—

Women’s Centre Opens |

Centre. We've seen a lot of films, |
- heard alot of speakers, and talked
{through some ‘pretty horrendous

experiences . with - / dozens “of

“women in this town, |

- “We've written more. than a
few: letters, organized a mass of

‘fund-raising events, and shared a

lot of information with those who
sought it, |

“In May, 1980, the Centre
received Society status, with a
non-profit mandate, a constitution
and a board of directors. (The
original board of directors in-
cluded Lorraine Wright, occupa-
tion: _ homemaker; | Marguerite
Clarkson, homemaker;. Pauline

De Sousa, homemaker, Carrie

Steinke, employed at Lakelse
Hotel, and Louise Wittkamper,
Usk, bookkeeper.) By then we
had run out of money and our
focus became just keeping the
doors open on volunteer time.”

4 990
Reviewing goals

. “This has been an exciting year
for the Centre,’’. Karla Hennig
wrote in the newsletter in June of
1999. “Two new staff members
with different ideas, losing and
then regaining our funding, a va-
ety of workshops, attendance at
the various conferences around
the province, and clear support

_ from the members of the Society

and many groups in Terrace who
see the Women/és Centre as a vi-
fal and important asset to the

community.”

In the Centre’s financial and ac-
tivity report to the federal govern-
ment for that year, she wrote,
“One activity that had diverted
us away from our planned ac-.
tivities was the one hundred per

, women’s. centres, :

the federal’ government reinstate
the funds and we succeeded.

‘Although we have spent a lot
of time. fighting’ the cuts,’’. she
continues, “‘we have managed to
keep on target with our focus,
Workshops and film topics this
year ~ included ~ pomography,
dating violence, and multicultural
lifestyles, We produced: a
Resources for Low Income
Women book and offered a Re-
‘Entry training program for
women. interested in non-
traditional careers,

‘We have seen an increase in
membership involvement as this
fiscal year draws. to an end. The
members bave expressed con-
cerns ‘about the Centre’s con-

tinued existence.” >

4995
Looking to the future:
At the 1995 Annual General
Meeting, the Women’s Centre
collective discussed plans for the

_ upcoming year. They include:
“continuing the focus on training
for women, but since funding is
drying ‘up, to provide shorter
courses or Workshops with exist-
ing staff and funding; to provide
basic information about the elec-
toral process and to encourage
women to become involved in the
upcoming provincial: elections;
and to ‘get back to. basics’: to

speak out on controversial issues
that effect women’s lives,”’

Information compiled — by
women's centre staff member
Charlynn Toews

cent “cut in core. * funding cat hoa

Women © all. :
- over the: country fought the outs fe
“by: lobbying for months to have . °

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 11, 1995 - AS

ABOVE — Guess who? The 1984 Women’s Centre staff, in their new home at
4542 Park Ave. That's Becky Allen, Harpreet Gill and Frances Birdsell. BELOW

— 1994 Canada World Youth women’s centre summer staff, Sara Marlowe and
-Neelima Rao.

A look at the past

CLOCKWISE, starting at top left — In- 1981, the | women's
centre sponsored the planting of a tree nursery. This | is the first
day of planting.
In 1986, Leah Leibel, a surnmer staffer at the centre; entered
the Miss Terrace pageant. She won the talent contest. . —
When the women’s centre first began, it organized a number
of festivals. Staff guess this picture of a woman and child was
taken in i982, -
The role of the women’s centre is often a political one. That's
former chairperson Pat Cathers i in the pesticide protest on Hwy.

16 in 1985,
At other times, the centre is just a pleasant. place for. women
to gather and share’ a laugh. This picture. of Nancy Ross, |
Marianne Brorup Weston, Frances Birdsell and Isobel Brophy .
was taken in February, 1987. oe
Volunteers continue to be the backbone of Céntre operations.
Women’s Centre volunteers Candace: Weller: and Filomena
Swanson organized ti the 1904 children’s festival: