The Milton Public Library (MPL) is receiving some extra funding from the Government of Canada.
Through the ‘New Horizons for Seniors Program’, the MPL will receive an additional $23,734 for projects aimed at making a difference in the lives of seniors and the community. With the money, they will be launching ‘The Seniors Translation for Newcomers’ project this year with the goal of better serving Milton’s diverse community and laying the foundation for further development of future services and resources.
“The New Horizons for Seniors Program provides critical funding to senior serving organizations to engage and support those who built our country and community,” says Milton’s Member of Parliament (MP) Adam van Koeverden. “I’m thrilled that the Milton Public Library received this federal funding, and I am looking forward to the beginning of their ‘Seniors Translation for Newcomers’ initiative later this year. These initiatives empower Milton’s seniors to connect with one another, ultimately bringing the Milton community closer together.”
The New Horizons for Seniors Program (NHSP) is a Government of Canada grant and contribution program. It provides funding for projects that make a difference in the lives of seniors and in their communities. Key objectives MPL’s program delivers on include:
- Promoting volunteerism among seniors and other generations
- Engaging seniors in the community through the mentoring of others
- Supporting the social participation and inclusion of seniors.
The objective of the ‘Seniors Translating for Newcomers’ project is to engage local seniors in the Town of Milton and surrounding rural areas, who fluently speak English, French, Indigenous languages within the community and one of the top five non-official languages, to advise on and translate library resources and materials. By providing these translated resources and materials, MPL will be taking further steps to becoming a more inclusive space for residents.
Through the engagement of older-adults and seniors as part of an advisory committee, MPL will promote volunteerism among seniors and other generations while supporting the social participation and inclusion of seniors. Older adults within Milton, who speak one or more of the top five non-official languages will act as an advisory group to MPL staff in order to identify the correct resources to be translated. They will also act as final editors to materials for information accuracy and will play a vital part in the development and execution of this project, which in the end will benefit a wide age range of newcomers to MPL, including other seniors.
In early 2022, MPL received $25,000 in funding from the Government of Canada under the same ‘New Horizons for Seniors Program’ for its ‘Hand-me-Down Project’, which engaged seniors and teens, promoting inclusion through intergenerational mentoring and engagement.
