One hundred years ago Rev. William Pike and his wife, Florence, founded the Bissell Centre — originally named All People’s Mission — to help Ukrainian immigrants settle into the community.
In the foyer of city hall yesterday, the Bissell Centre kicked off its centennial celebration in front of a packed house.
The Bissell Centre is a community resource centre in Edmonton’s inner city for individuals and families living in poverty. For its birthday, the centre was awarded $97,000 in funding from the federal government and MP Peter Goldring was on hand to make the announcement.
“The work that the Bissell Centre has done through all of these years has been so wonderfully commendable,” he said.
While the event kicked off a year-long celebration, Mayor Stephen Mandel said he hopes to see the day when a facility like Bissell isn’t necessary in the city.
