Heart Niagara, the incredible non profit organization dedicated to heart health in Niagara had a ribbon cutting ceremony last night which commemorated the opening of the new Clark Centre!
This gorgeous 2,500 square foot facilty which repurposes space in the original Heart Niagara headquarters (6017 Valley Way, Niagara Falls), will be the new go to place for folks wanting to get involved with health, wellness and education programs to improve their heart health!
The centre is named after John and Lillian Clark who were local doctors, and on hand for the event was their daughter Deb Allerton who donated a million dollars to Heart Niagara as part of the Fund she created on behalf of her parents (the John and Lillian Clark Fund).
The crowd cheered as the official ribbon cutting took place to kick things off (in picture Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, Deb Allerton, Stafford Dobbin (Heart Niagara Founder) and lots of helpers).
Right after the formalities everyone spread out to enjoy the space and some refreshments…
Executive Director for Heart Niagara, Karen Stearne told niagarabuzz.ca that the Clark Centre means kids now have a LOCAL hub to get educated about heart health. The facility will also be an exciting resource for businesses who want to learn workplace wellness. Here’s Stearne and some of her many volunteers that made the evening a huge success! (Trish, Carlee, Mary, Karen)
The only thing missing from the event which featured a delicious buffet and cold refreshments was air-conditioning (which many joked about). Nothing could put a damper on this happy occasion though. Janice and Rebecca below kept it cool by the opens doors…
As did Heart Niagara’s Terra and Anita…
Jennifer, Ken and Marilyn were all smiles and kept it cool with a nice glass of wine…
Sally, Kevin, Diane ,Doug and Ken were so keen to get to the new Clark Centre that some of them came all the way from England!
Joked Karen Stearne….”maybe the AC situation will help increase donations to the Centre” (which still is looking for $15,000 to complete the project with finishing touches (like chairs, tables, AC, etc). Michelle and Karen from Heart Niagara share a laugh…
Clark Fund creator Deb Allerton enjoys mingling with the crowd after the ribbon cutting ceremony…(Deb and Marlee pictured)
Overall, the celebration of the Clark Centre was a tremendous achievement that saw MANY volunteers and monetary donations that made it a reality (including Niagara’s Men on the Move construction group who donated more than 600 hours to complete the “make over” of the space)! But your help is still greatly needed and appreciated. Why not get involved in this great community and health oriented initiative?
Here are some of the lovely writing cards that you can purchase for example that were inspired by John and Lillian Clark’s memory…
For more information about DONATING to Heart Niagara or GETTING INVOLVED with the programs available, please visit their website at www.heartniagara.com.
About Heart Niagara:
Heart Niagara (1977) has a distinguished record of guiding advances in cardiac health education and services in Niagara that are yielding improvement in access to primary and secondary prevention programs, training in bystander CPR and public access defibrillation.
Much goodwill exists for Heart Niagara for its considerable contributions to the Niagara health care agenda. This respected not-for-profit charitable organization has mapped out its direction and strategy for the next phase of its evolution. This juncture has allowed Heart Niagara to consider whats possible, based on vision and values.
Heart Niagara empowers our community to take control of heart health by providing children and adults with education, training and tools and through strategic partnerships.
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