An essential institution in Hanna is celebrating a milestone birthday this weekend.
Lynks Hanna, which for many years was known as the Hanna Learning Centre, is having a 50th birthday celebration on Saturday night in Hanna. Doray Veno has been the Executive Director at Lynks for years and shares why they changed their name. “Short answer, we outgrew it. We tossed around the thought for several years about doing a name change. Timing, we just didn’t know when the right time was. In 2021, we started moving ahead with the process. Hanna Volunteer Association was a sister organization to Hanna Learning Centre. We had two boards, two sets of books, and it didn’t make sense (to remain separate). We amalgamated those organizations and formed an organization with a different name. We moved to Harvest Sky Services and Supports Society and were formally amalgamated, renamed, rebranded in 2022.”
The party itself has been sold out for a few weeks and Veno and her team are extremely pleased with the community response. “We are over the moon excited with the support from everyone in Hanna, and surrounding areas, to come celebrate our 50th Anniversary with us. In 1976 was when the organization was first stood up as a further education council. We’ve evolved so much in those 50 years and truly are a backbone organization in our region. We are really proud and wanted to share and celebrate that.”
Veno notes that there are so many things that are part of Lynks that many may not know they have under their umbrella. “Everything from invigilating post-secondary exams, family literacy, digital literacy support, document support for our older adults in our community that are a bit shy of using computers. We have our hop-on hop-off transportation on Wednesdays. We do a hot lunch program on Wednesdays. We still do our first aid courses monthly. We do ESL learning, current employment, and connecting programs in the community with many partners. We really are very vast in the services and programs that we champion in our community.”
If you would like to learn more about Lynks, Veno says to stop by for a coffee and a visit. You can also check out their website. Even though their celebration is sold out, you can still support by buying one of their 50/50 tickets online. The draw for the 50/50 will be made at their event on Saturday, April 18th.
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