Province Invests In Cultural Tourism Benefitting Municipality of West Elgin

 

GUELPH, ON – February 11, 2009 – The Arts & Cookery Bank (The Bank), announced last week that as a part of the Rural Economic Development Program (RED), the province will invest $286,925 to convert a heritage bank building and a heritage barn into a regional cultural destination. This regional hub will house a photo gallery and a state-of-the-art cooking studio – a project expected to bring direct investment to the region and help support long term sustainability through rural tourism in West Elgin, Dutton-Dunwich, Southwest Middlesex, and Newbury Municipalities.

Rural communities are turning to innovative measures to combat rural poverty. As stated in Beyond Freefall: Halting Rural Poverty by the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, “rural tourism can strengthen a sense of place and community pride by magnifying the existing attributes of the community.”

The Municipality of West Elgin is currently participating in the Foundation for Rural Living’s (FRL) Rural Development Officer Program (RDO) in partnership with RBC and is testing a model. “We understand the role of community organizations in building economic prosperity. Through FRL’s RDO program, we are working to support our organizations including The Arts & Cookery Bank” Graham Warwick, Mayor, explains.

The Municipality’s Rural Development Officer, Monica Pelcz, supports the sustainability of the community’s nonprofits and aids to build their capacity through individual and joint fund development initiatives. Monica will strive to coordinate and facilitate partnership development between the nonprofits and the Municipality of West Elgin to coincide with the “municipal” economic development and tourism initiatives.

FRL’s RDO program recruits and places unemployed individuals in rural “host” nonprofit organizations with the aim of supporting rural individuals to re-enter the workforce and become self-reliant. Concurrently the RDO contributes to building the human, fund development and resource capacity of rural organizations, so the organizations can build sustainability and be better equipped to respond to the priorities of their communities. This Employment Ontario Program is funded in part by the Government of Canada.

FRL will provide support to Monica and the other participating RDOs through a specialized program that includes knowledge transfer and education. This program also provides RDOs with access to resources and tools as well as coaching and mentoring.

The Bank is a nonprofit, community-based heritage centre in West Lorne that showcases the culture and unique rural heritage of the four surrounding municipalities, Dutton/Dunwich, Newbury, Southwest Middlesex and West Elgin through photographs and cuisine. The Bank hopes to raise awareness of rural traditions while helping to bolster the area’s economy through cultural tourism.

The Foundation for Rural Living advances the rural nonprofit and voluntary sector and builds sustainable rural capacity to enhance the quality of life of rural citizens.

 

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For more information on the Foundation for Rural Living please contact:

Anita Hayes, Executive Director
Foundation for Rural Living
Ontario AgriCentre
100 Stone Road West, Suite 109
Guelph, ON N1G 5L3
Tel:  (519)-826-4126 x230
Fax: (519)-826-3408
Email: anitahayes@frl.on.ca
Web:  http://www.frl.on.ca
         http://www.ruralphilanthropy.ca 


For more information on The Arts and Cookery Bank please contact:

Grace McGartland,
Chair, Arts & Cookery Bank
242 Graham Rd in West Lorne
Tel: (519)-871-5204 (cell)
Email: grace@thunderboltthinking.com


For more information on the Rural Development Officer Program in the Municipality of West Elgin please contact:

Monica Pelcz
Rural Development Officer
Municipality of West Elgin
217 Furnival Rd. Box 539
Rodney, Ont. N0L 2C0
Tel: (519)-785-1910 (Work)
Tel: (519)-619-1875 (Cell)
Fax: (519)-785-1833 Fax
Email: mpelczrdo@hotmail.com