A non-profit organization offering programs and services for francophone women experiencing violence has unveiled its new name.
Centre Passerelle pour femmes du Nord de l’Ontario has been rebranded as Ellevive. The unveiling of the new name and logo took place in front of the Timmins Museum: National Exhibition Centre Thursday afternoon.
“I saw we needed to change a little bit, so I wanted to go towards something more positive,” Chantal Mailloux, Ellevive executive director. “For now, our main goal is to get out and make sure everybody knows us. That’s the goal and to really encourage women if they’re going through or they’ve been through something before, that it's OK to come to seek help.”
The renaming has been in the works for over a year. The organization formed a subcommittee and worked with a Sudbury-based Signature Group of Companies.
“It was a long process. The subcommittee did an amazing job and we’re very pleased with the outcome,” said board chair Celeste Courville.
The consultant company took charge of the process and came up with over 20 potential names and rationales behind them, said Mailloux.
“With 'elle' meaning 'she' and 'vive' being life,” it kind of combines two words together and creates a corporate name that’s really effective and describes who they are and what they do,” explained Tom Hewlett, president of Signature Group of Companies.
Community organizations like Club Richelieu - Les Perles du Nord, Timmins District and Multicultural Centre as well as Timmins Police Service’s (TPS) senior administration officers were on hand to show support.
“Timmins Police Services is very proud to lend support behind this recent upgrade, this unveiling of the new logo,” said TPS’ corporate communications co-ordinator Marc Depatie. “They’re one of our more valuable community partners in terms of providing support to persons in need in the Timmins area, so we’re always working in conjuction with these community partners and we have a vibrant partnership. And we’re hopeful that this is a turning of a new page in terms of keeping things fresh within the city of Timmins.”
Ellevive offers a wide range of services and programs for francophone women over the age of 16 who have been subjected to violence and sexual assault. Provided programs include a residential program, community outreach, sexual assault, transitional housing, human trafficking and child witness programs.
To learn more about the centre, visit ellevive.ca.
