The Rooms Corporation today announced a major private
donation of $1 million from Elinor Gill Ratcliffe, a humanitarian,
philanthropist and a member of both The Order of Newfoundland and
Labrador and The Order of Canada. In recognition of this major private
donation, a new gallery, to be named The Elinor Gill Ratcliffe
Gallery, will be built above the Husky Energy Gallery on the
4th floor of The Rooms and will house the Social History of
Newfoundland and Labrador Exhibit.
The 1,400 square foot Social History exhibit
will capture our social history — the stories that contribute to our
sense of unique identity as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I wish to thank
Ms. Ratcliffe for her generosity and commitment to the preservation of
the social history of our province," commented Tom Foran, Chair, The
Rooms Board of Directors. "Ms. Ratcliffe's contribution will help
preserve our rich culture and history for generations to come"
Dean Brinton, CEO of The Rooms Corporation, commented:
"Elinor Gill Ratcliffe cares deeply for our province and our people. We
are honoured to have a gallery that will carry her name, and an exhibit
that reflects the pride that we all share in the province's culture and
history."
With this contribution, The Rooms has now secured
approximately $4 million of the $5 million budget required to complete
its 4th floor exhibits. In addition to the gift from Elinor
Gill Ratcliffe, $2.5 million has been contributed by Husky Energy and
another $450,000 from the Department of Canadian Heritage, Cultural
Spaces Fund.
Construction work on
The Elinor Gill Ratcliffe Gallery
is scheduled to begin in September 2010 with an
anticipated opening in 2013.
Interested media are invited to attend a reception in
Ms. Ratcliffe's honour this evening at 7:30 p.m. at The Rooms.
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Media contact:
Deanne Fisher
Director of Marketing and Development
The Rooms Corporation
709-757-8070, 691-0835
2010 05 10
12:00 p.m..
