It was a day of celebration at the Children’s Cottage Society in northwest Calgary, as the organization marked the completion of its $26.5 million capital campaign — officially paying off its new Child and Family Centre on Home Road. The milestone was made even more special by a surprise delivery of toys and essentials for children in need. “This building is a labor of love,” said Danielle Ladouceur, CEO of the Children’s Cottage Society. “It took about ten years to complete, and it was really about keeping up with the need in Calgary, making sure that families and children who are struggling have the resources and the programs they need to be strong, to be resilient, and for children to thrive.” The new 35,000-square-foot facility first opened in April 2024 in Calgary’s Montgomery neighbourhood. The three-storey centre brings all of the Children’s Cottage Society’s core services under one roof — including a new Crisis Nursery, a Family Resource Centre, Child Development Centre, volunteer rooms, and administrative offices. It also features unique spaces still to be unveiled, including an Elder Room designed for ceremony and cultural connection. “We’ve now raised all the funds we needed to pay for this building and our organization is fully debt free. So it’s a very joyful day for us,” Ladouceur said. The journey to this point began with the Caring Together Campaign, launched in June 2021 to support the construction of the Child and Family Centre. The Society says the new facility will allow them to support up to 1,900 more children each year. The cottage first opened its doors in 1986, launching Canada’s first crisis nursery to provide emergency care for children whose families were facing urgent and stressful situations. Since then, the organization has expanded into a full network of prevention and support services for families in need — offering shelter, mental health programs, respite care, and early childhood development support. Over nearly four decades, the non-profit has supported more than 78,000 children. “Last year we served about 3,300 children and their families,” Ladouceur said. “We’re really happy to have this beautiful facility and we’re so excited to achieve our goal.” ‘Hitman’ teams up with Amazon The celebration was made even more memorable with a special visit from wrestling legend Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, who helped unload dozens of Amazon delivery boxes packed with toys, school supplies, clothes, and other essentials. “It’s an honor for me to be here today to be part of such a great cause,” Hart said. “The Children’s Cottage Society is just so much for so many families and children. It’s a very critical and real thing that needs to be done.” Hart said meeting the kids and seeing their reactions was especially meaningful. “I take all that really serious and it means a lot to me, I just hope that we got lots of action figures and toys for some of my biggest fans here today.” One of those fans was 7 year old Noah Fields, who was helping out at the event. “I feel very good. I love Bret Hart. He’s the wrestler who destroys all the other wrestlers and he is one of my heroes.” The donations were made possible after Amazon challenged the Cottage to submit a list of urgently needed items — then delivered them within 24 hours. “They asked us to create a list of things we needed,” said Ladouceur. “The challenge was that all of those things needed to be delivered within 24 hours so today the trucks have pulled up and they’re unloading all the boxes and we’re getting all kinds of wonderful things for children, for our families, to help our staff with our programs.” While the delivery event showcased Amazon’s fast shipping, Ladouceur says the real impact was on the children. “It’s hard to be separated from your family sometimes,” she said. “When we have a lot of wonderful toys, beautiful quilts, clothes for them to wear when they stay with us, that means the world for them. It means that they’re having a great time while they’re with us and they’re not worrying so much about what’s happening in their family.” For more information about the Children’s Cottage Society and its programs, visit childrenscottage.ab.ca.
