Fundraising for liver disease gets creative

For people fighting or surviving liver disease, fundraising would normally be a walk in the park — but not during these COVID times.

This year, with fears about spreading the virus among people who already have underlying conditions and their loved ones, the local Canadian Liver Foundation’s annual Stroll for Liver fundraiser had to be taken to other places.

Bianca Pengelly, Manitoba’s CLF regional coordinator, said Stroll for Liver is being held virtually this year. People are being encouraged to take a walk in their backyard, take a stroll on their own somewhere else or go for a bicycle ride.

Pengelly knows the value of dollars raised for research from generous people because she has spent her life knowing about liver disease. She was only two weeks old when her parents were told her liver was damaged and she was unlikely to survive to the point she could receive a transplanted organ.

But Pengelly did, and 18 months later she received her new liver — and 26 years later she and other members of her family went for a walk through a campground in Lac du Bonnet to help others like her. Her Team Pengelly raised $2,000 for the cause.

“The whole point is keeping your liver healthy, but also to keep everyone safe,” the now 28-year-old Pengelly said.

“We didn’t want to be in a crowd so we decided to hold it virtually. Everybody could do this comfortably and safely.”

Nationally, the fundraiser brought in more than its $100,000 goal.

Pengelly said with one in four Canadians estimated to be affected by liver disease, everyone knows someone with it.

The foundation says you can be born with liver disease, contract it from a virus, develop it from what you eat and drink, be exposed to various toxins or suffer from it for unknown reasons.

The CLF is still looking for donations because every dollar helps it with research, patient support, advocacy and more. You don’t even have to do anything strenuous — as a long ago telephone campaign said, you can let your fingers do the walking — this time on a computer keyboard or your smart phone.

If you want to contribute to the cause, go here.

And, as Pengelly said, “There’s really no time like the present to donate.”

Shelley Cook, Columnist

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Wheel meaning shop

Edward Cloud (front) Riley McMurray (right) and Cherisse Daoust are volunteers at the Bike Dump. (Jesse Boily / Winnipeg Free Press)

Volunteers at the Bike Dump have been helping Winnipeggers keep rolling for 15 years.

The community bicycle shop offers people access to the tools needed to fix their bikes for free, and advice to help guide them. There are also recycled parts they can use to build a bike they can ride.

“You’re actually working with someone and you see them ride out with the bike they just built with you that day,” says volunteer Riley McMurray.

“Sometimes they’ll tell you they need that bike to get to work tomorrow. It can really be a lifeline.” READ MORE

Oh the places Gord goes!

For several weeks during the coronavirus pandemic, former NDP justice minister Gord Mackintosh has filled the Winnipeg Free Press Destinations section with places you can visit close to home.

Whether it’s the western part of the province, up north, unique attractions, or just the quirky statues in many communities, Mackintosh has written about them all.

His final one ran in the newspaper recently.

“Metaphorically, Manitoba, like a backyard, is fantastic,” Mackintosh said. “And COVID-19… has compelled us to better discover, appreciate, and embrace our wonderfully quirky and endearing place.” READ MORE

Transplant show, transplant Winnipegger

Hamza Haq stars as Bashsir

Hamza Haq stars as Bashsir “Bash” Hamed in the television drama Transplant. (Yan Turcotte / Bell Media)

The TV show is named Transplant, but as our Randall King wrote recently, its creator is also a transplant.

Joseph Kay, a former Winnipegger now living in Toronto, headed east to study law. While loving the school, he found he didn’t want to become a lawyer, so he enrolled in a writing program at the Canadian Film Centre. Fast forward a few years, and Kay has created a medical drama with its lead character a doctor serving a medical residency who is a Syrian refugee.

The show, which debuted on CTV in February, is now running on NBC.

“I was doing a lot of reading about residencies and how hard it is for international medical graduates to get residencies, especially in Canada. It’s unbelievably difficult if you’re a fully trained doctor to get a shot at doing a residency,” Kay said. READ MORE

What if he visits again?

Bob Williams had already donated to the construction of the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Inuit Art Centre, but a recent visit convinced him to donate more.

Williams, who invested in Apple stock 15 years ago, had already donated an unspecified amount of money. Now, he will also match donations up to $500,000.

“Once you take a tour of the building, you see what this vision is,” Williams said. “With this building there will be nobody in the world that will be able to match Winnipeg, Manitoba, for the display of Inuit art.” READ MORE

Legendary broadcaster talks

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSBob Irving will be calling his last regular-season Blue Bombers game Saturday in Calgary.

Bob Irving has been broadcasting Winnipeg Blue Bomber games for so long he has only missed three Labour Day clashes between the Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders since 1975.

Unfortunately, the latest was this year after the entire 2020 Canadian Football League season became the latest victim of the coronavirus, giving Irving the first July and August he has had off during his career.

Recently, David Sanderson caught up to Irving to talk about his career and the Bombers.

“Not having to work has been nice in the sense that I’ve had more time to golf and get away to the cottage, but, at the end of the day, I’m a huge fan of the CFL, one who misses the game terribly.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca READ MORE

Orangutan baby Batu hangs in the arms of its mother Toba, who is eating coconuts, in the enclosure of the zoo in Hagenbeck, Hamburg, Germany on Sept. 10. (Axel Heimken / DPA)