RBC Foundation donates 550K to ‘Welcome to the Library’ program

It’s money that will help new Canadians feel comfortable here in Cowtown.

The RBC Foundation is investing $550,000 in the Welcome to Library program at the Calgary Public Library.

The program provides support to immigrants to help to build skills, information and contacts, while easing the transition to life in Canada.

The new funds will help with orientation tours, a welcome video, and one year of free library access for newcomers.

“This unique and critically needed program will create a positive impact on the lives of newcomers, and we couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it,” Mike Maloney, RBC Spokesperson, said.

The new CEO of the Calgary Public Library Bill Ptacek is an immigrant himself; he used to be the head of Washington’s King County Library system.

He says this program is making incredible strides for new Calgarians.

“Those folks who are coming to the libraries now who are just getting used to our community, eventually are going to be the leaders in this community. They are the people that are going to drive the economy, and they will remember that their first point of contact with this country was in their public library,” Ptacek said.

This is the largest donation RBC has ever made to a library.

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