The Saint John Newcomers Centre hosted a Super Saturday Social on March 2, 2019. (Brad Perry/CHSJ News)
The Saint John Newcomer’s Centre is getting some national attention.
They are in the running for ‘Settlement Agency of the Year’ in RBC’s Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards.
The centre has been around for ten years and provides workshops, resources and more to newcomers to Saint John, such as international students, temporary workers, and refugees.
Emily MacMackin with the centre says they were nominated for the award anonymously, but they are thankful their hard work in the community is being noticed and appreciated.
“The winners of this award will be featured in the Canadian Immigrant Magazine, and we think that this is a really great opportunity for us to showcase Saint John as a great place to live, work and play,” she said in an interview.
Only 2 days left to vote for Settlement Agency of the Year!
We hope to bring home this award to showcase Saint John as the welcoming and prosperous home we all know and love! ❤️🙌 #TuesdayThoughts #RBCTop25 #SaintJohn #NewBrunswick
Vote here ⬇️https://t.co/2pGchsz5aS pic.twitter.com/ZZrsd44RyZ
— The Saint John Newcomers Centre (@SJNewcomersCntr) May 14, 2019
MacMackin says the small team of ten at the centre were beyond thrilled when they received the nomination. She laughs that when her boss, Muhammed Bagha got the email, he thought it wasn’t real at first.
“Everybody here was really surprised. We’ve only been around for ten years so our presence in the community is still not as great as some other organizations. Everybody here is really humbled,” she said.
MacMackin loves working at the centre, and getting to know other people’s ways of life. She gets to experience many different cultures without having to leave home.
She also loves seeing the impact the centre has on those who have just arrived here. They provide things from computers with free internet access, and free printing to allow people to process post arrival paperwork and apply for jobs, as well as information sessions and social events.
“We also offer conversation groups in French and in English,” said MacMackin. “This helps newcomers prepare for their citizenship test, develop new listening skills, and develop the skills they need in order to thrive in the community.”
Voting ends Thursday, May 16th, and MacMackin says every vote counts.
“The settlement agency with the most votes wins and it does look a little bit like a popularity contest, but it really is illustrating the impact that the agency has in its community,” she says.
Voting can be done online.
