Students win $10K for Habitat for Humanity

By: Ben Waldman Posted: 2:00 AM CDT Thursday, Jun. 13, 2024

For writing poems about what home means to them, a pair of Winnipeg elementary students have each been awarded $10,000 grants for Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.

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For writing poems about what home means to them, a pair of Winnipeg elementary students have each been awarded $10,000 grants for Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.

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This article was published 13/06/2024 (801 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For writing poems about what home means to them, a pair of Winnipeg elementary students have each been awarded $10,000 grants for Habitat for Humanity Manitoba.

Out of 2,834 submissions from budding writers across the province, and 15,000 across the country, Emily Virginia Jones and Winter Rose Wright had their work chosen by a selection committee at the national charitable organization.

Jones is an 11-year-old Grade 5 student at École Riverview School, home of the Raccoons, while Wright, also 11, is a Grade 6 student at École Seven Oaks Middle School, home of the Hawks.

Sheldon Birnie photo
Emily Jones, a Grade 5 student at École Riverview School, was one of the runners-up with her poem, Home. — Sheldon Birnie photo

Emily Jones, a Grade 5 student at École Riverview School, was one of the runners-up with her poem, Home.

The students heard about the Meaning of Home contest from their teachers, who explained that each entry to the national contest would be matched with a $10 donation to their local Habitat branch.

“We all signed up and I was really hoping that I would win so that I could help people in need to get a home,” Jones told the Free Press in an email.

Jones, whose favourite poets are Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Frost and whose favourite book at the moment is Kathy Kacer’s Hidden on the Highwire, decided to write about her own homes and her experiences with her “wonderful parents.”

“I thought that writing about how lucky I am and showing how some people don’t have that would help make my poem more meaningful,” she said.

Wright, who mentions Richard Wagamese as a personal fave, said she took the contest’s question at face value.

“I wrote about what home meant to me because I thought I could share my opinion and also be relatable,” she said.

Wright said Wagamese’s work inspires her.

“Not only do I respect him as a writer, I respect him as an individual.”

Both writers took their time when composing their winning entries — each titled Home — to the contest, which has raised $2.7 million for the charitable organization since the first edition in 2007. The contest is sponsored by Sagen, a private Canadian mortgage insurance company.

“At first I thought that my poem would take only a week or so, but it ended up taking a month and a couple weeks,” said Jones, who said her entire class wrote really good poems.

“Many times I had to restart a stanza because I just didn’t feel like it was going with the rest of the poem. It was difficult, but I really enjoyed making it.”

“It took me about a month to make the poem,” said Wright. “I really wanted to take my time and let it sink in. It was a lot more challenging than I thought because I didn’t wanna just rush into it. I wanted to take my time and not overdo it. It took me to the last second to finish my poem.”

Both Wright and Jones, who were two of nine entrants nationally to receive $10,000 grants to their local Habitat branch, believe in the power of poetry.

“Poetry has lots of meaning, and when you write poetry, it has more meaning than when you’re writing just a story,” said Jones, who appreciates Frost for that reason and Poe for his rhythm.

”When I read poetry, it makes me feel like I’m in a whole new world of literature.”

“Poetry is a window into one’s mind. It lets people express themselves in the most interesting way possible. But for me, it’s different. A swipe of a pencil takes me out of this world into a place of creativity and imagination,” said Wright.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com

Ben Waldman
Reporter

Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University’s (now Toronto Metropolitan University’s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben.

Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.

Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.

Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.

Home
by Emily Virginia Jones

Home is a place with love and laughter,

It’s a place you should feel like you matter

A place with food on your plate

Loving memories and more,

Home can never be a bore.

Home is full of cuddles,

Full of kindness and cheer,

Jump in puddles in the park,

(Pretty, look there’s a deer.)

Home is with family,

Movies and popcorn,

Measurements on the wall,

(Wow, I can’t believe I’m that tall.)

For some not as lucky, this is the truth

No warm water or heat

Sadly sleeping alone on the street

This is why we do this,

So people can live in bliss

Home is a place where I feel alive,

Home is a place for people to thrive

When I am home I feel like I could fly

Home is a place I never want to leave,

It’s a place to feel sadness and grief,

Home is never very neat, but at my home

I feel complete

Home is from my heart,

Loved from the Start

Home
by Winter Rose Wright

Manitoba is my home and it’s home to my people, Anishinaabe and Métis

We signed the first treaty

We are a strong community!

Home is more than the bricks and the roof,

It’s a place to be silly, free and a goof

Home is where we accept our mistakes

Home is where we talk and relate

Home might not be the same for me and you,

But your idea of home is great too

Home is sometimes where you fight,

And try to prove that you’re right

Home is where we raise our kids to be better than us

Home is where we have hope and trust

Home is where we jig and smudge,

Home is where we push and get a nudge,

Home is where my ancestry flows,

Home is where my family grows,

Home is a place where new memories are made,

Home is where love never fades,

Home is where laughter fills an empty room

Home is where a new sprout is destined to bloom

Home is about me, home is about us

Home is built with respect and trust

When I think of home I think of my mother’s warm embrace

I think of my kookum’s teachings,

And I think of my father’s faith

I think of my grandma’s strong humility, and of my uncle’s humour

I think of my siblings’ capability

And of my papa’s powerful intelligence

I think of my aunt’s grace

And my ancestors’ presence

That’s home to me, I hope you see that home is filled with family.

Ben Waldman
Reporter

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August 23, 2026

Students win $10K for Habitat for Humanity

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