UCAMA Gets Boost from Alberta Credit Union

EDMONTON–The Ukrainian Canadian Archives and Museum of Alberta’s (UCAMA) fundraising campaign for its relocation and redevelopment project got a boost on February 13 with a $100,000 donation from Capital City Savings, Alberta’s largest credit union.
Harry Buddle, President and CEO of Capital City Savings, said: “It [the donation] contributes to the redevelopment of Edmonton’s downtown and reflects the strong multicultural roots of our credit union.”

Capital City Savings will also be accepting donations from the public on behalf of UCAMA in their 41 service locations in north central Alberta and through their website.

The credit union's donation has come soon after City of Edmonton councillors voted in December 2004 to provide $3 million to support UCAMA’s relocation to downtown Edmonton.

With the help of this funding, UCAMA hopes to be able to “add to the diversity of the cultural fabric that exists in downtown Edmonton,” said UCAMA’s President Khrystyna Kohut.

The donation from the City of Edmonton will be added to the $3 million from the Community Facility Enhancement Program of Alberta Gaming, announced in October 2004.

Since 1974, UCAMA has been located in a building dating from 1912 at 9543-110 Ave, but this property has structural weaknesses and inappropriate conditions for the proper long-term storage and display of the museum’s archival collection.

After a feasibility study was completed in 2002, UCAMA acquired the historic Lodge Hotel and Brighton Block properties on Jasper Ave. Plans are currently underway for phase one of UCAMA’s revitalization project, which has a budget of $12 million.

UCAMA has partnered with the Edmonton Downtown East Project, the City of Edmonton’s revitalization plan for the historic neighbourhood in which UCAMA’s new facility will be located.

The new 26,000-square-foot facility will feature exhibits and programs that will provide easy public access to the ethnographic and archival collections of UCAMA and its partner museums: the Museum of UCWLC, Edmonton Eparchy, and the Ukrainian Folklore Centre at the University of Alberta.

UCAMA’s library contains over 40,000 volumes, rare historic publications, 320 newspaper titles, and almanacs. Its archives contain  photographs, maps and posters. Its museum houses 1,600 artifacts, including items of pioneers, textiles, ecclesiastical books, folk instruments, art and military memorabilia.