Hope College open house on March 3 at Greentree Mall

    As Hope College prepares to submit their application to the Alberta Rural Development Fund, an open house will be held on Thursday, March 3 at Greentree Mall to field questions from interested locals about the proposed health institute.     From 2-6 p.m. next Thursday, President Dr. Jon Olhouser and other players will be at the mall providing information.
    “We’re trying to raise the profile of Hope College in the community,” said Olhouser. The grant requires they demonstrate the local community understands and supports the project. People will be able to stop by, learn more about the project, and sign a statement of support addressing whether the school would be beneficial to the community to go along with the RADF application.
    “We’ll be there to answer any types of questions. We’ll have handouts that explain the project more: when we’ll start, what we anticipate for student residences, where we’d be located, what our costs would be. What we’re primarily looking for are members of the community who feel this would be valuable to express their support.”
    The public open house will follow a professional luncheon on March 2 which will address options for professionals in the valley who would benefit from having this post-secondary institute in place.
    Hope College is a not-for-profit post-secondary institution developed by the Hope Health Initiative and Community Futures Big Country. They envision establishing a college and student residence in Drumheller.
    Hope College was recently approved to submit a proposal to the RADF, which would help cover start-up costs associated with the first three years of operations. The grant request is asking for $1.1 million from the RADF.
    The RADF is a provincial matching grant, requiring Hope College to find community support by securing at least 25 per cent of its start-up needs from local sources. The business model estimates it will require $1.6 million for start-up costs over the first three years of operation.
    They hope to open their doors to the first cohort of students in the fall of 2012.
    Hope College’s anticipated first two years course plan includes: Licensed Practical Nurse, Physical Therapy Assistant, and Business Administration in 2012; Occupational Therapy Assistant, Rehabilitation Therapy Assistant, and Respiratory Therapy Assistant in 2013.
    For more information on Hope College, visit www.hopecollege.ca.