The Portage Friendship Centre made it though Christmas this year without any difficulties after a long recovery from the fire that we had last year in the back half of our building.

I have to mention we finally have our addition to the building, a new elevator.  This came in very useful during our Elders dinners. 

Our Elders had a good time with Johnny Dietrich as our entertainment and a visit from MLA member Ian Wishart. 

The Children’s party went great!  The children enjoyed meeting with Santa and they also received an early gift from him after an enchanting sleigh ride through the Island of lights. We held the party at the Island park this year although we were thinking that next year we will stay at our building on 3^rd Street to accommodate more people.

Congratulations to Claudette Roulette for winning the Star Blanket raffle this year.  All proceeds went towards our Christmas events.  Thank everyone for their support! 

The Parent/Child Program has made some slight changes to the program this New Year.  Transportation from school was added to the After School Program.  Stephanie manages to do pick ups at three different schools, although parents are responsible for picking their children at 6:00 pm.  There is also a play group for children ages 3 to 5 in the mornings where young children can learn about the medicine wheel, traditional stories about animals and the importance of reduce, reuse and recycle. For more information or to register contact Stephanie.

Another partnership was made this year with the Prince Ogitchita Martial Arts centre in the Portage Mall.  There are two different classes that are offered free of charge. 

The Youth at Eagles Fire Youth Centre have been keeping busy with their music projects and they now have a CD available for purchase that was recently released.  Please contact Wendy Calvert or Melinda Henderson at 856-2192 for more information on what’s going on at the Youth Centre.

The Sexually Exploited Youth Regional Team will be having an informational evening this coming Thursday, so come out and show your support. They will be meeting at the Eagles Fire Youth Centre at 6:00 pm with light refreshments available.  For more information contact Debbie Parker.

We are currently in the process of hiring a new Housing Coordinator after the heartbreaking death of our Housing Coordinator Ernie Pashe, he will be missed.  The deadline for applicants was January 25^th, 2012 and we would like to take this time to thank all that have shown an interest in the position.  

We have an addition to the Friendship Centre family, our new Administrative Assistant; Samantha Aymont.  She is the new face & voice at the front desk, welcome Samantha!

Jolene Smoke is the new Executive Assistant for the Centre. 

Congratulations to the both of you!

If you need any additional information please feel free to contact us