“We greatly appreciate this gesture,” said Rendez-vous des ainés francophone d’Ottawa, president Marcel Gibeault. “We want to thank Mr. Royal Galipeau again for his presence here this afternoon, his wonderful announcement and his cheque.”

The program will encourage seniors to keep the oral storytelling tradition alive within their communities.

Gibeault indicated he plans to use the funding to teach more seniors how to tell the stories of their life experiences or of historic events that took place in their communities to their grandchildren, families and others in the community. Filming of the storytelling sessions are planned for posterity.

“It allows seniors to keep active in and around the community and since it’s an intellectual activity it helps keep them stimulated mentally,” he said.

Over a 15-week period of one afternoon per week, seniors will learn various storytelling techniques to captivate audiences and make their accounts interesting for all ages.

“Seniors have so many values to share through these stories and it valourizes them,” Gilbeault said.

The federal investment falls under the Community Participation and Leadership component of the New Horizons for Seniors Program, which encourages seniors to continue to play an important role in their communities by helping those in need, providing leadership, and sharing their knowledge and skills with others.

This was the second funding announcement Galipeau made within a week. On Friday, March 27 he gave over $24,000 to the Multicultural Association of Orléans for their seniors programs.

– By Sonia Morin