New Dawn cel­eb­rat­ing dec­ade of help­ing new­comers to Cape Bre­ton

New Dawn Enter­prises is cel­eb­rat­ing a dec­ade of help­ing new­comers build lives, careers, and com­munity con­nec­tions in Cape Bre­ton with a bar­be­cue on the grounds of Eltuek Arts Centre in Sydney.

The cel­eb­ra­tion, which takes place June 30 from 4-7 p.m., will also fea­ture per­form­ances, refresh­ments, and reflec­tions from New Dawn staff, board mem­bers, and cli­ents and friends of the centre.

The Cape Bre­ton Island Centre for Immig­ra­tion will also announce its new name: the New Dawn New­comer Centre.

Since open­ing in 2016, the centre has become a lead­ing set­tle­ment organ­iz­a­tion, help­ing thou­sands of new­comers, inter­na­tional stu­dents, fam­il­ies, work­ers, and refugees nav­ig­ate everything from health care, trans­port­a­tion, edu­ca­tion, employ­ment, and fin­an­cial lit­er­acy to com­munity con­nec­tions, cul­tural integ­ra­tion, and path­ways to per­man­ent res­id­ency and cit­izen­ship.

“Cel­eb­rat­ing a dec­ade doing this work is so hum­bling for me,” said Nad­ine Paruch, man­ager of the New Dawn New­comer Centre. “While reflect­ing on it, I feel for­tu­nate to have been involved in the jour­neys of hun­dreds of people I have met along the way. I have had the priv­ilege of wit­ness­ing incred­ible resi­li­ence, cour­age, and hope in people start­ing over and build­ing a new life, often in the face of uncer­tainty.”

BELONGING AND CONNECTION

Nadarni Head­lam said the centre was a place of belong­ing and con­nec­tion after arriv­ing in Cape Bre­ton from Jamaica.

“I dis­covered the centre on Ins­tagram before com­ing to Canada, and after arriv­ing in Cape Bre­ton, I star­ted attend­ing their events to con­nect with my new com­munity,” said Head­lam. “I was able to visit numer­ous loc­a­tions in Cape Bre­ton and learn about the his­tory of the island. I later became a volun­teer, help­ing other new­comers feel wel­come.”

Each year, the New Dawn New­comer Centre con­ducts a sur­vey with new­comers to identify emer­ging needs, high­lights the con­tri­bu­tions and assets new­comers bring to the com­munity, and provides evid­ence-based recom­mend­a­tions that help guide the centre’s pro­gram­ming while inform­ing com­munity part­ners, employ­ers, edu­ca­tional insti­tu­tions, and decision-makers.

The annual sur­vey has become an import­ant tool for under­stand­ing the evolving new­comer exper­i­ence in Cape Bre­ton and ensur­ing ser­vices remain respons­ive, rel­ev­ant, and effect­ive.

“Ten years ago, I wasn’t really sure how to ‘do set­tle­ment’ or what the work would look like. Over time, I real­ized it looked like meet­ing people where they were, listen­ing, learn­ing, cre­at­ing con­nec­tions, ensur­ing folks felt val­ued, and help­ing them real­ize they had something to con­trib­ute,” Paruch said.

“Set­tle­ment work is not just about provid­ing ser­vices and run­ning pro­grams; it is about help­ing people, under­stand­ing, learn­ing, and show­ing up. This is the most mean­ing­ful work I have ever been a part of.”

‘LIFE-CHANGING DECISION’

Rebecca Mac­don­ald, the inter­na­tional stu­dent set­tle­ment pro­gram team lead and recently licensed reg­u­lated Cana­dian immig­ra­tion con­sult­ant, joined the centre staff in 2021.

“I never knew what a life-chan­ging decision it would be. The abso­lute high­light of my role has been the many incred­ible and inspir­ing new­comers I’ve met along the way.

“We have sup­por­ted so many people through both chal­len­ging and joy­ful moments and helped many put down roots here on our island,” Mac­don­ald said. “After 10 years, the most impact­ful part of our work for me has been the many friend­ships that have formed across com­munity organ­iz­a­tions, with cli­ents, and within our team. I hope that we can con­tinue build­ing rela­tion­ships for another 10 years.”

One of the centre’s most vis­ible con­tri­bu­tions to com­munity build­ing has been the annual Kwe’ Unama’ki–hello Cape Bre­ton Fest­ival.

First launched in 2018, the fest­ival fea­tures music, dance, food, and storytelling, cel­eb­rat­ing the many cul­tures that now call Cape Bre­ton home.

Cape Breton Post, June 26, 2026