Does anybody remember Saskatchewan in the 1950s? I don’t. I wasn’t born until 1982. My parents were alive, but it’s no good asking them because a) they would have been really young and b) they’re from the UK. So, anybody? I ask this because from what I have seen (mostly grainy black and white photos dotted around Saskatoon) and from what I have read, I am interested to know if anybody was aware of Friendship Centres?
Friendship Centres originated in the 1950s. With the increasing number of Aboriginal people moving into urban areas the Centres were created within urban settings as a way to address the needs of Indian and Métis people at the local level, providing referrals and counselling with respect to employment, housing, education, health, and liaison with other community organizations. It was from these Centres that the Aboriginal Friendship Centres of Saskatchewan (AFCS) was created.
The AFCS now encompasses 11 Friendship Centres in Saskatchewan with a corporate office in Saskatoon. Built on community support, trust, strong leadership, tradition and faith, the AFCS is mandated to improve the quality of life for Aboriginal People throughout Canada.
Working together with AFCS, 2 Web Design Inc. redesigned and developed a brand new website in order to promote this message.
Our approach to the redesign was to create a website that is exciting and welcoming for its visitors; that improves the functionality for its members; and clearly communicates the AFCS message.
AFCS understood the importance of Social Media Marketing and how successful it is in promoting your organization and driving traffic to your website. Links to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were integrated.
A key component that we integrated into the new website was the Smart Web Manager, our custom built Content Management System (CMS). The previous AFCS website didn’t have a functional CMS and without it the website had become difficult to update and maintain. Now, with our Smart Web Manager, the AFCS administrator can access the site and easily update and edit content on a regular basis.
For further information on AFCS programs, fundraising events and locations of Friendship Centres in Saskatchewan visit their website at www.afcs.ca.
