The Crowsnest Pass Literacy Foundation and Nippon Institute of Technology presented Summit Home Centre, the Home Hardware retail store in Blairmore, with thank you gifts on Wednesday, December 1, in appreciation of contributions to the recent NIT student-led construction project.
Literacy Foundation Chairperson Dorothy Gierulski and staff member Cheryl Cann, along with Phil Cann of NIT presented Blair Painter, on behalf of he and his wife, Cathy, with a plaque which included a photographic collage of the completed “Bringing Stories to Life” playhouse project which was designed and constructed by 15 NIT students.
Students working toward their architectural degree at the Nippon Institute in Japan worked in teams to develop plans for the playhouse, based on their choice of one of six children’s books, including A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh”, Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are”, and Phoebe Gilman’s “Something from Nothing”.
The winning design was based on “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, and all of the competing teams came together to build the playhouse, and traveling to Canada to do so.
Summit Home Centre made a substantial donation, donating the majority of building supplies and materials for the project.
“It made a huge difference,” said Cheryl Cann. “It wouldn’t be nearly as nice of a playhouse without the donations from Summit Home Centre. This is just a small token of our appreciation.”
Other people and agencies who assisted in the project were: Gary Quarin of Westwind Construction; Mario Mascchio of Mario’s Auto Repair, who has stored the playhouse over the winter; Devlin Towing, who transported the playhouse to Mario’s, and will help to transport it in the Spring to various locations, as well as towing it in parades; and Rick Gibos and the Gibos family, who Cann said “put in hours and hours of volunteer time and whose family made financial donations toward the project”.