New accessible washrooms are in the cards for the Grand Forks and District Public Library, as the organization has reached its fundraising goal.
Following an “accessibility audit” last summer by the Rick Hansen Foundation, the library decided to undertake a fundraising campaign to renovate the library’s washrooms. While most of the library space passed the audit, the washrooms failed for their lack of accessibility to people with differing abilities, including library patrons with mobility issues.
The library raised a total of $84,000 for the project through a combination of grants and donations. According to library director Cari Lynn Gawletz, several thousand dollars came in through small community donations, and larger grants formed the base of the money raised.
Grants from the Rick Hansen Foundation, the BC Accessibility Grants Program, the BC Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, as well a donations from Ian and Rosemary Mottershead, the Allard Foundation, the Cowan Foundation, Gladys Floyd, and Capri Insurance all contributed towards the final total.
“We are replacing our current men’s and women’s stalled washrooms with four non-gendered, single-user units outfitted to modern accessibility standards,” Gawletz said. “We are excited for the opportunity this renovation will give us to reach more people in our community and to improve the safety and comfort of the building.”