BONNYVILLE - The 50th anniversary of the Dove Centre in Bonnyville was celebrated in fitting style on the evening of Sept. 23 as more than 300 people gathered at the C2 Centre to remember the organization’s early days and celebrate a significant milestone in its history.
The non-profit agency has been supporting adults with developmental disabilities and providing them with opportunities in Bonnyville and Cold Lake and surrounding area since 1973. Many of those whose lives have been touched by the work of the organization were on hand to recognize the important role it has played in the community.
Describing the Dove Centre as holding a special place in her heart, Bonnyville Mayor Elisa Brosseau said it is not every day that an organization is able to celebrate 50 years in operation and pause to reflect upon its impact on the community.
“The Dove Centre’s dedication to promoting inclusion and striving for independence for their clients has changed many lives,” she said. “Their reach is further than we can imagine, and the positive impacts are felt by our entire community.”
Brosseau’s grandmother, Jeannette Bourget, was integral in the inception of the organization through her influence and advocacy in the community for people with disabilities.
“She is one of the founding members of the Dove Centre. She fought hard to give her daughter, my auntie, the life she deserved in her hometown because at that time access to any type of support could only be found in the big city,” Brosseau said.
During the evening, Jeannette Bourget provided a trip down memory lane, taking the audience back to 1973 when the Dove Centre was first incorporated and the path that was taken even before that to build the organization into what it is today.
Bourget shared that her daughter, Gisele, was chosen to participate in a provincial government program at the Royal Alex Hospital in Edmonton in 1970. She was one of 25 disabled children chosen from across Alberta. An assessment of “their conditions and needs was to be made by a team of medical professionals,” Bourget explained.
“I became quite vocal about the lack of services for our physically disabled children in rural Alberta, namely the northeast,” she said. “Parents were obliged to institutionalize their child in Red Deer or elsewhere to receive help with their children or do the best they could at home.”
Bourget said a call from members of the Royal Alex Hospital team to meet with her in Bonnyville spurred her into action and she called upon her friends Pearl and Cam Fontaine to participate.
“We organized a meeting with local residents and businesspeople who supported us with enthusiasm and compassion.”
“We had very humble beginnings,” Bourget said, explaining that space was rented to accommodate the group’s first 22 trainees, there were seven staff, and a used van was purchased to transport them. Cam Fontaine became the first CEO of the Dove Centre.
A generous gesture by the late Victor Ringuette of B & R Eckel’s offering the group the operation of a bottle depot provided the all-important step of achieving an income and providing training to Dove Centre clients.
From there the vision for the services the Dove Centre could provide in the community grew. The first vocational training facility for the handicapped came into being through a $105,000 government grant supporting 50 per cent of the building project. The Sisters of Assumption provided $52,500 and “the remaining was assured through debentures and donations by local residents and businesses,” Bourget said. The facility boasted a woodworking shop, bottle depot, crafts area, kitchen, dining room and administration offices.
“What a tribute to community involvement,” she said. “I must empathize the contribution made by Cam Fontaine - his love for the trainees, dedication to business aspect, and imagination for business possibilities – what a blessing for the centre and contribution to the community.”
Over time a second-hand clothing business was added, a contract was received for building “rough boxes for coffins,” which Bourget said was acceptable at the time but “now no longer.”
Contracts to build pallets, the sale of rags to oil companies and local garages, the making and selling of crafts and other endeavours have all contributed through the years to provide opportunities to persons with disabilities to develop their skills and become part of the community.
“I am so proud that we became the first in rural Alberta to have a vocational training facility for the physically handicapped,” Bourget said. “I pray to God that this fine work is continued for all of those who are here tonight for the love of the most precious gifts that we have in our society – our handicapped children.”
Rodger Turcotte, chair of the Dove Centre’s board of directors, expressed his appreciation to all involved with the Dove Centre for their role in the success of the organization.
“We really appreciate everything you have done to support the Dove Centre and make it one of the most renowned service providers in northeastern Alberta and, actually I think, just about the whole province.”
Dove Centre CEO Robert Goulet said the important contributions persons with disabilities make in communities cannot be overlooked and the time has come to move past inclusion and “park our values at acceptance.”
He had high praise for the organization’s staff describing their passion and dedication to support people reach their goals and live their best lives as nothing short of extraordinary.
“Each of you is critical in ensuring the success of the Dove Centre.”
He had equally high praise for the Dove Centre clients.
“For those currently supported, stepping out of the shadows of the boundaries placed in front of you your whole lives to show your community just what you are made of is a really big deal,” Goulet said. “Hearing from people that you can’t do something and having to prove that in actuality you are more than capable . . . You have taught so many of us a lesson in determination, persistence, tenacity, and perseverance. Thank you for all that you have added to our lives.”
The underlying theme of the evening is perhaps best reflected in the words shared by Bourget, which she said are depicted on a plaque at the Dove Centre: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” – Matthew, chapter 25, verse 40.