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A welcome face helps newcomers adjust

Sep 27, 2017 | 10:00 AM

Moving to a new area can be sometimes difficult. Whether it’s across the country, province or from city to city familiarizing yourself and your family with your new community can be challenging.

That’s where Jackie Pitman comes in.

For the past five years, Pitman has been the Welcome Wagon and Baby Wagon representative in the Battlefords and surrounding areas.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet new people and make them feel welcome to the area,” said Pitman. “Moving to a new community is certainly a big deal.”

Pitman would know the challenges, as she moved to the Battlefords in 2005 with her family from England where she was born and raised.

“I remember getting my Welcome Wagon visit from Joei Lewis a dozen years ago,” Pitman added. “It was nice to get the gifts from different businesses and to have a friendly face to visit with.”

For 87 years, the Welcome Wagon has been helping residents get accustomed to their new environment across Canada with literature, maps and gifts from local area businesses and Pitman said it is surprising how many people she gets to meet in a given year coming to the Battlefords.

“Surprisingly, I make about 150 visits per year to newcomers to the Battlefords,” she said. “Normally new people contact me, but more often than not I learn about new people moving here from friends or neighbours.”

When she is not visiting new residents of the area, you can find Pitman reaching out to mothers who have just given birth.

“The Baby Wagon is something I took over in 2014 when the last person to do something else,” Pitman said. “I am authorized to go to visit new mothers at the BUH and present them with their basket of gifts, but I also make home visits to places like Wilkie and Meadow Lake as well.”

She said that the baskets contain coupons or vouchers that are ideal for newborns and information for new mothers as well.

If you know someone new to the area or a mother-to-be, contact Jackie Pitman on Facebook or check out the Welcome Wagon online.

 

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @RJWtheReporter