The B Nest Studios at Bower Place in Red Deer celebrated it's Grand Opening on Sept. 8. (rdnewsNOW/Sheldon Spackman)

By Sheldon Spackman

For The Benefit Of Children

New store at Bower Place supporting Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre

Sep 10, 2020 | 12:10 PM

The Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre (CACAC) has partnered with a local art and literature studio in hopes of raising awareness of their important work in the community.

The B Nest Studios has opened at Bower Place and offers local fine art, children’s books, illustrated prose, events and workshops, and also international indie award-winning book, “What Bee will you Bee?”

Jennifer O’Shea, Community Development Coordinator for the CACAC, says their collaboration began last fall when The B Nest Studios published a book and wanted the proceeds to go to a local charity.

“We partnered together at the Marketplace at Bower Place,” she recalls. “We were doing the gift wrapping and they were doing the art studio. Our relationship kept blossoming and they kept-wanting to do more and more to help the centre.”

O’Shea says The B Nest Studios then phoned to let them know that they were opening a store at Bower Place and wondered if the advocacy centre would like to have a place to showcase awareness for what they do and a place to sell the items they use for fundraisers.

PREPARING FOR 2025 ELECTION

Sylvan Lake invites curious residents to info session on running for town council

3h ago

83 PERMITS AT $23 MILLION

Red Deer building permits continue upward trend in November

3h ago

be prepared

Freezing rain warning issued for Edmonton to Red Deer corridor

8h ago

“With all of our fundraisers being cancelled, it was a huge blessing for us,” says O’Shea. “And we’ve since partnered with City Roast Coffee who has provided us with their own blend of coffees. So we’ve got now a place where the community can come and ask questions, pick up things for volunteer forms and just basically have a conversation. We call it coffee with a cause.”

With The B Nest Studios celebrating its Grand Opening Sept. 8, author Brandi-Lee Webber says her collaboration with artist Tad Ames over the past 18 months developed a desire for them to give back to the community.

“We’re really passionate about reading, writing, sitting down with a child in your lap and really interacting through the pages of a book,” she explains. “I really feel like we both have this passion for children. We want to raise happy, healthy, educated, engaged kids and I feel like when you do that with children, I feel like the world coming up is going to be a completely different place.”

The B Nest Studios at Bower Place features fine art, children’s books, illustrated prose, events and workshops, as well as fundraising items for the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre. (rdnewsNOW / Sheldon Spackman)

Webber says partnering with CACAC just made sense to both her and Ames.

“It’s just so incredible to see how much of a difference they’re making and in such a way that is so different than anyone else is doing,” she suggests.

Ames adds, “They’re modeled for changing the world, literally by having a good look at the next generation and what they need most, and the work they’re doing in central Alberta is fantastic and to be associated with them is just incredible.”

Mark Jones, Executive Director for the CACAC, says they’re ecstatic over their partnership with The B Nest Studios.

“It’s going to benefit not only our organization but they’re organization, as well as the other organizations that want to get involved and be able to show their wares and bring awareness to what they’re doing,” he remarks. “But for us, it was about bringing awareness for what the centre does.”

With a new school year underway, Jones expects the advocacy centre to see increased caseloads as kids reconnect with their teachers and the other supports in place.

“For them to be able to be back with some people that they can speak to and share their history on what’s happening and what they’re doing, it’s just awesome,” says Jones. “We’re ready, all of the people that are doing the work with kids and vulnerable people, we’re prepared for it. It’s a matter of working together and creating good opportunities.”