Signs with Canadian flag placed across city
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A local charity counted on Winnipeggers to show their Canadian pride on their lawns in preparation for the country’s 159th birthday.
Signs bearing the Canadian flag were erected on 100 residential properties across the city Saturday.
“There’s a sense of increased patriotism and pride right now,” said Clay Purves, incoming co-president of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg-Assiniboine, which is spearheading the Canada Day-themed fundraiser. “So that timing works well with people, hit the sentiment and mood where people are interested.”
The pilot project involved 100 homes across the city. Armed with 32-by-34-inch signs and a long list of addresses, Rotary volunteers criss-crossed the city installing the Canadian flag displays on front lawns for participating residents.
For $40, the program offered installation and post-July 1 removal of the signs, with proceeds supporting scholarships at three St. James high schools, leadership camps and youth exchanges, the Living Prairie Museum, and local community outreach and food security initiatives.
Purves said the club has relied on traditional fundraisers such as a spring dinner and a golf tournament in September, but began looking for new ideas after hitting a plateau with both events.
Fellow member Jason Smedvik learned that Rotary clubs in Alberta and British Columbia run similar fundraising initiatives involving flags and flagpoles in smaller communities.
“We thought it would be an interesting thing to try in a more urban setting,” Purves said. “We decided to start with signs that look like election signs, those kinds, they’re easier to transport.”
As a pilot project, the club capped the first year at 100 signs to test delivery logistics and gauge demand across the city.
“Trying to come up with something different to do,” Purves said. “Just trying to do something that wasn’t just another 50-50 draw.”
While organizers initially planned to focus on St. James, Purves said they expanded after finding it difficult to turn down interest from residents in other neighbourhoods.
On installation day, six volunteer teams met at 10 a.m. and headed out on six routes to install the signs across the city. Some residents will also pick up their signs directly.
Purves said other Rotary clubs in the city are watching the pilot closely.
“It’s not sort of the thing that people normally buy for fundraisers,” Purves said. “We really like it because it is scalable, something that can grow and grow and grow.”
zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca