Happy Easter!
I want to share with you a brief update on our redevelopment project and some important news from L’Arche. There will be more community news coming with our newsletter in May.
L’Arche’s redevelopment and housing project is going ahead full steam! In the next two weeks, we are moving out of our beloved building of 47 years on Sussex Avenue to temporary locations for our offices and community inclusion day programs. We found a great space in the neighbourhood for not only our administration and programs, but storage space as well. People in Creation House, the last home in the building, moved a few weeks ago to a beautifully renovated, fully accessible new home, also in the neighbourhood.
We will be out of the Sussex building by April 19 and demolition will start in May. We expect ground breaking for the new building will be in late summer. So things are finally moving forward with our dream of a new fully accessible building!
I also wanted to share with you that I am stepping down from the role of Community Leader/Executive Director at the end of June, as I have served the maximum term of three mandates. It has been an honour to serve L’Arche in this role for 14 wonderful years. With the expansion of the organization, and especially in this transition while we are waiting for our new building to be built, our community needs a Community Leader who can tend to the people and day-to-day operations of the community full-time. Our Boards also recognize that it is not sustainable for one person to continue holding all the responsibilities of tending to the community and the overall operations, as well as leading the capital campaign and the redevelopment project.
However, in order to ensure continuity of leadership for the campaign and to see the building project through to completion, I am pleased to share that I will take on a new role with the L’Arche Foundation of Greater Vancouver starting in the summer.
The search for a new Community Leader is now underway and has been posted on various job search platforms. Please click on this link to view the posting. Feel free to share with anyone who might be interested.
Many blessings to you as we embrace the hope of the Resurrection in this Easter season.
Denise Haskett
Community Leader/Executive Director
