Fighting the good fight

On April 24, we launched the first instalment of our feature Building Unity: Our Community Centres, highlighting the work done by community centres in and around Winnipeg.

In the second part of this three-part series, we examine the challenges faced by community centres in Winnipeg and area in depth.

Although some struggle and others thrive, community centres remain intrinsic parts of the areas they serve. While some centres operate with million-dollar annual budgets, still others are making do with tens of thousands of dollars.

“Larger community centres with indoor facilities most definitely have different budgets, both in income and expense, than smaller centres,” explained Marlene Amell, executive director of the Greater Council of Winnipeg Community Centres. “It’s difficult to get the comparisons, like comparing apples to oranges.”

The evolving role of local community clubs

Like most Winnipeggers of a certain age, my life can be traced through interactions with my local community clubs.Growing up in St. Vital, I played hockey for teams based at Glenwood CC and Norberry CC. My brother, my sister and I all played soccer for teams based at Windsor. At the time — the 1970s and ’80s — local community centres were the hubs of most families’ lives in their neighbourhoods. With roots that reach as far back as the 1920s, Winnipeg’s community clubs were places where kids played organized sports and their parents and friends came together to play and socialize at everything from socials and sports tournaments to dances and seasonal carnivals.As the city grew during the 20th century, community centres were built and established in most new neighbourhoods, and this has continued into the 21st century, with a new club coming to southwest Winnipeg. At the same time, some of Winnipeg’s older community centres have been forced to amalgamate as the demographics of their neighbourhoods have changed.As a father, I have coached and watched my sons playing hockey and soccer for teams based in various parts of west and north Winnipeg — at R.A. Steen, Sinclair Park, Heritage Victoria and Corydon Community Centre (made up of the former Sir John Franklin, Crescentwood and River Heights CCs).  As a homeowner and resident, I have seen three community centres in my neighbourhood — Isaac Brock, Orioles and Clifton — become the combined Valour Community Centre. I have watched as the Isaac Brock site has become busy at all times of day, catering to both children and adults as home to the Valour Patriots football club, adult basketball leagues and popular zumba and yoga classes. The Isaac Brock playing fields teem with mini-soccer games each spring and fall.It is clear that Winnipeg’s community centres are still an intrinsic part of the areas they serve. But it is also clear that their roles in their communities are changing as populations shift and infrastructure is developed, decommissioned or rebuilt.The General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres was created in 1971, following the creation of Unicity, to serve as a central resource for Winnipeg’s community centres. Today, the GCWCC administers to 63 community centres and over 90 sites.Here at Canstar Community News, we often report on the activities of those 63 community centres, as well as 13 more in the RMs of East St. Paul, West St. Paul, Headingley, St. Francois Xavier, Macdonald, Rosser and Cartier.In today’s issues of The Headliner, The Herald, The Lance, The Metro, The Sou’wester and The Times, we have conducted dozens of interviews to give our readers snapshot looks at these 76 community centres, their facilities and the activities they offer. In the next two weeks, we will present an in-depth look at the challenges faced by the community centres in our coverage areas, and, perhaps most importantly, we will examine what the future holds for community centres and the people who make them run.We hope you enjoy Building Unity: A Look at our Community Centres.You can find all of this content online at canstarnews.comJohn Kendle is managing editor of the six weekly newspapers published by Canstar Community News. Email him at john.kendle@canstarnews.com

Like most Winnipeggers of a certain age, my life can be traced through interactions with my local community clubs.

Growing up in St. Vital, I played hockey for teams based at Glenwood CC and Norberry CC. My brother, my sister and I all played soccer for teams based at Windsor. 

At the time — the 1970s and ’80s — local community centres were the hubs of most families’ lives in their neighbourhoods. With roots that reach as far back as the 1920s, Winnipeg’s community clubs were places where kids played organized sports and their parents and friends came together to play and socialize at everything from socials and sports tournaments to dances and seasonal carnivals.

Woodhaven offers ‘full rainbow’ of programs

Tucked away along the banks of Sturgeon Creek, Woodhaven Community Club has been serving the St. James community since at least 1959. “Everybody always says it’s some of the best nights around, even on those coldest days you can skate at Woodhaven because it’s really well-protected from the wind,” president Mike Weber said.The club, located at 200 Glendale Blvd., has undergone significant renewal under Weber’s leadership — including the construction of a new play structure and upcoming renovations on the main hall. Winters are the busiest season for the club with numerous hockey and ringette teams running out of the two outdoor hockey rinks and recreational skating at the tennis court turned pleasure rink. The club also runs a soccer program in the summer. To keep up with activities, Woodhaven employs seven staff in the winter and one in the summer. The club relies heavily on community support, with about 50 per cent of its operational costs coming from fundraising and signature events like its Christmas at the Hill, a winter carnival and spring and fall dinners. Weber describes the club’s demographic as a “full rainbow” and programming for kids, families and seniors reflects that. One of the club’s regular programs is the Woodhaven Men’s Shed, which is a social and activity group for older men that promotes emotional wellbeing.The group was started by Doug Mackie in 2011 and at that time it was the first program of its kind in Canada. Today, there are 27 Men’s Sheds across the country boasting more than 500 members. Every Wednesday afternoon, a group of about 30 men get together at Woodhaven to make wood carvings and crafts, play cards and socialize. The group also runs a weekly speaker series.“We’re really proud of those guys, they help us out a lot with our day-to-day stuff. They’ve got a wealth of knowledge and they apply it to our building,” Weber said. Weber grew up in the Woodhaven neighbourhood and both of his parents volunteered with the community club.“We’ve been part of the club for a while and many, many families in the neighbourhood have that same thing,” he said. “It’s a pretty special place and a lot of people have some pretty strong ties to it.”

Tucked away along the banks of Sturgeon Creek, Woodhaven Community Club has been serving the St. James community since at least 1959.

“Everybody always says it’s some of the best nights around, even on those coldest days you can skate at Woodhaven because it’s really well-protected from the wind,” president Mike Weber said.

The club, located at 200 Glendale Blvd., has undergone significant renewal under Weber’s leadership — including the construction of a new play structure and upcoming renovations on the main hall. 

Activities at Weston are well-attended

Unlike other clubs, where the resident sports teams are the crown jewels, it’s the community support programs that shine at Weston Memorial Community Centre. “We’re a place to warm up, we offer food and snacks, I think it’s a pretty vital part of the community over here,” Weston facility manager Michelle Cooke said. “We’re open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., we’re consistent, we know people by name. It’s a little bit different than other clubs in the city… it’s almost like a second home for some.”The club at 1625 Logan Ave. doesn’t have any structured sports programs — partly due to a lack of volunteer coaches and partly due to the high cost of participation — but it does have a slate of well-attended weekly drop-in activities for infants to seniors. Year-round programming includes drop-in, free play and after-school programs for youth; bingo, drum group, yoga, zumba and ping pong for adults; and a weekly luncheon, computer classes and fitness classes for seniors. The club is also the hub for other groups like NorWest Co-op Community Health, which runs a Bright Start family program and seniors footcare clinic out of Weston; and Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata, which runs a violence prevention program for teen boys.“The diversity that comes here and the fact that even though we don’t have any sports teams here, we’re always full of community members,” Cooke said. While volunteer coaches are hard to come by, the community does lend a hand in other facets of the club. The biweekly food bank is volunteer-run and Cooke said she was impressed with the volunteer turnout for Weston’s inaugural community Christmas dinner last year. To attract more volunteers, she focuses on trying to win over folks who are already attending the centre. “Building on relationships with people who are showing an interest or involvement with the community centre,” Cooke said. “It’s hard to chase people who don’t want the involvement, but if they’re here at least they’re showing a bit of interest.”Weston is one of five community centres in the city run by the General Council of Winnipeg Community Centres, which means it doesn’t have its own board. The centre has four staff members along with some seasonal help. 

Unlike other clubs, where the resident sports teams are the crown jewels, it’s the community support programs that shine at Weston Memorial Community Centre.

 “We’re a place to warm up, we offer food and snacks, I think it’s a pretty vital part of the community over here,” Weston facility manager Michelle Cooke said. “We’re open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., we’re consistent, we know people by name. It’s a little bit different than other clubs in the city… it’s almost like a second home for some.”

The club at 1625 Logan Ave. doesn’t have any structured sports programs — partly due to a lack of volunteer coaches and partly due to the high cost of participation — but it does have a slate of well-attended weekly drop-in activities for infants to seniors. 

Westdale offers a safe environment

Per its tagline, Westdale Community Centre is a place “where everyone is welcome.”The centre, located at 550 Dale Blvd., serves a diverse section of the Charleswood community with programming for kids, young families, new Canadians and seniors. “You get a good mix of people coming in,” facility manager Gary Pacholuk said. “We provide somewhere for the kids to go where they can get involved in a safe environment… the people who do use the facility appreciate it.”Throughout the week, Westdale runs an infant and toddler playgroup, pickleball, Kids in the Kitchen and a popular Friday night drop-in for youth aged six to 12, which regularly sees between 50 and 60 kids. The Karen Luba School of Dance runs classes out of the club’s renovated second floor. In the last five years, the community centre has also been able to update its flooring, interior paint, lighting and bathrooms thanks to grants. However, Pacholuk adds that “there’s always a project on the horizon.”In addition to its annual operating grant, Westdale brings in income from hall rentals, canteen sales, sports fees and its annual Warrior Challenge hockey tournament. The Warriors field youth softball and hockey teams — the latter holds practices at the outdoor rinks on Dale Boulevard and at the Pembina Trails Community Club (6363 Rannock Ave.), which is managed by Westdale. The community centre has a 13-member board and three part-time staff. Like many community centres, Westdale’s biggest challenges are finances and recruiting volunteers. “You’re dependent on grants, so each year can change quite a bit,” Pacholuk said. “We’re also volunteer driven, we’ve been fortunate that we have quite a good board and they’ve been involved in doing things, but on any given year when you have your AGM you can get a new board in and who knows what happens.”He adds that the club is careful to not overuse the dedicated volunteers they do have.“Finding the manpower at times can be challenging,” Pacholuk said, adding that the Warrior Challenge requires 40 to 50 volunteers to run smoothly. “We definitely appreciate our volunteers.”

Per its tagline, Westdale Community Centre is a place “where everyone is welcome.”

The centre, located at 550 Dale Blvd., serves a diverse section of the Charleswood community with programming for kids, young families, new Canadians and seniors. 

“You get a good mix of people coming in,” facility manager Gary Pacholuk said. “We provide somewhere for the kids to go where they can get involved in a safe environment… the people who do use the facility appreciate it.”

Plenty of local support for Varsity View

Unlike other centres, Varsity View Community Club has no problem finding and maintaining volunteers.“People who are here seem to stay here for a long time,” board president Murray Cunningham said. “The people and the staff running this ship are really good and that probably trickles down to the programs.”The hall at 315 Laxdal Rd. has been operating in Charleswood since 1935 and the sportsplex at 4230 Ridgewood Ave. was built — largely through community fundraising — in the mid 1980s. Cunningham himself has been involved in Varsity View for roughly 13 years, even though his kids have long since aged out of the club’s sports programs. “The people, seeing things grow, coming up with ideas and then putting them into action,” he said. “I just love all aspects of it.” His first job as a teen was teaching kids how to skate at his local club, but Cunningham says he’s noticed a shift in the role community centres play in neighbourhoods.“There’s so many more things to do and even with the organized sports, even at eight, nine years old kids are playing these tiered-levels of hockey,” he said. “I never did that, i went and played on the outdoor rink.”Varsity View has 13 board members and about 10 employees across both sites, which includes arena and nursery school staff. Organized sports are the biggest focus at Varsity View and the Falcons host hockey, ringette, ball hockey and softball teams. The club has a long-running weekly bingo, but finding programs that are suitable and benefit the community are hard to come by.“It’s hard to keep programs running. A lot of people come in and have great ideas and (through) no fault of their own it just doesn’t always stick,” Cunningham said. Another issue facing the aging club is keeping up with necessary building repairs, which the board president acknowledges is a problem across Winnipeg. “For them to fix all the community centres in the city it’s millions of dollars.”To maximize resources and tap a larger catchment area, Varsity View has tried joining forces with Westdale and Roblin Park community centres for signature events. A recent success was the 2018 breakfast with Santa. “We held it at Roblin Park but we got three or four volunteers from each club, which was easy to do,” Cunningham said. “It was really rewarding and it was really good for the community as a whole and I think we’re going to try and do that a little bit more moving forward.”In addition to its annual operating grant from the City, Varsity View makes its income from hall rentals, socials and yearly fundraisers for team parents. 

Unlike other centres, Varsity View Community Club has no problem finding and maintaining volunteers.

“People who are here seem to stay here for a long time,” board president Murray Cunningham said. “The people and the staff running this ship are really good and that probably trickles down to the programs.”

The hall at 315 Laxdal Rd. has been operating in Charleswood since 1935 and the sportsplex at 4230 Ridgewood Ave. was built — largely through community fundraising — in the mid 1980s. Cunningham himself has been involved in Varsity View for roughly 13 years, even though his kids have long since aged out of the club’s sports programs.

Running three sites a big task at Valour

Valour Community Centre serves a diverse demographic across its three West End sites. The community centre was created through the amalgamation of its Clifton, Isaac Brock and Orioles sites in December 2006.“There wasn’t enough usage and enough people to support three boards,” Valour board president Liz Jackimec said. “It came down to closing community centres or merging them together.”“That was also at a time when the City was closing a lot of clubs and building supercentres, so that was also a consideration,” added general manager Jimmy Marnoch.The decision to keep all three locations came down to accessibility, since most residents walk or bike to their local community centre. Today, Valour is run by a 14-member volunteer board and employs 10 full-time and 30 part-time staff members. The post-amalgamation catchment area for the community centre is about 10,000 homes. Each site serves a different section of the population. Most of the club’s seniors programming is run out of the Clifton site (1315 Strathcona St.) and includes line dancing, tai chi, table tennis, a Chinese social group, the Assiniboia Wood Carvers and a monthly lunch club. The Isaac Brock site (715 Telfer St. N)  is where most of the family programming happens, including a healthy baby group, family fun nights, before- and after-school drop-ins and a weekday lunch program. This location also hosts a daycare program and summer carnival once a year.At Orioles (448 Burnell St.) youth are the target market and programs include an after-school drop-in, an instrument, songwriting and DJ class, capoeira, yoga and boxing. Most of the activities at this site are free or low cost to attend. Judo, taekwondo, zumba and drop-in volleyball offered at various locations.Sports offered through the community centre include the Valour Patriots Football Club, basketball, hockey, outdoor and mini-soccer and T-ball. All three sites have a wading pool and outdoor ice rinks.“One of the bigger challenges is to be able to serve all the people that are in our catchment area,” Jackimec said, adding that she would like to see more cultural programming, like an Indigenous beading or a Filipino cooking class, offered through Valour.The Isaac Brock and Orioles facilities have seen some recent renovations and the focus has turned to outdoor areas. Building new basketball and tennis courts and moving the football program from Isaac Brock to Clifton where there is more space are top priorities. “Those are our major outdoor goals and it’s hugely expensive stuff,” Marnoch said.

Valour Community Centre serves a diverse demographic across its three West End sites. 

The community centre was created through the amalgamation of its Clifton, Isaac Brock and Orioles sites in December 2006.

“There wasn’t enough usage and enough people to support three boards,” Valour board president Liz Jackimec said. “It came down to closing community centres or merging them together.”

St. James comes together at Sturgeon Heights

Sturgeon Heights Community CentreAddress: 210 Rita St.   Phone: 204-832-5991Website: sturgeonheightscc.comSports: Baseball, jackrabbits, hockey, ringette, soccer, mini-soccer, basketball and lacrosse. 

The building may be new, but the community centre on Rita Street in St. James has been around since the 1920s.

“The club itself, I have records from 1926 but it could’ve been here before that,” said Barry Chambers, general manager of what is now Sturgeon Heights Community Centre.

’Tis the season for fun at Roblin Park

Winter is king at the Roblin Park Community Centre. “Our outdoor winter wonderland is only (second) to the Forks,” board president Kelsey Genik said via email. “We are quaint and have the best iceman in the city. It is a safe place in the winter for all of our community members to come together and enjoy.”Established in 1949, the Charleswood community centre — located at 640 Pepperloaf Cres. — has been the hub of the neighbourhood for the last 70 years. During the coldest months of the year, the club operates three outdoor rinks, ice slides and an ice path for leisure skating. In addition to facility rentals and its annual operating grant from the City of Winnipeg, Roblin Park holds two major fundraisers each year: a Winter Carnival and the Rob/West Fall Classic. The latter is the one of the largest pre-season minor hockey tournaments in Winnipeg and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018.The centre recently received a renovation grant from the City to upgrade the windows in its skate change room and the board is hoping for a capital grant this fall to enable further upgrades. Roblin Park is the home of the Raiders and runs youth hockey, ringette and basketball teams. Regular youth programs include preteen dances, summer camp, karate, dance classes and Scouts Canada groups. Adults can partake in aerobics, art classes, round dancing and slo-pitch. The community centre also runs a 70-space licensed child care facility that provides care for children from nursery to school age.There are currently nine people on the board at Roblin Park and, aside from maintenance staff, the club is run entirely by volunteers. Genik said attracting new volunteers and raising money for programming are the centre’s biggest challenges. “We provide a quaint place for our community to come together,” she said. “It really is the hub of Charleswood especially in the winter.”

Winter is king at the Roblin Park Community Centre. 

“Our outdoor winter wonderland is only (second) to the Forks,” board president Kelsey Genik said via email.

“We are quaint and have the best iceman in the city. It is a safe place in the winter for all of our community members to come together and enjoy.”

Welcoming spirit at R.A. Steen

Wolseley’s Robert A. Steen Community Centre is a microcosm of the neighbourhood. Tucked away at the end of a tree-lined block, the centre at 980 Palmerston Ave. offers a wide range of activities from team sports to yoga lessons to music and art classes.Paula Roeder has been the program co-ordinator at R. A. Steen for 12 years. Her favourite part of the centre is the closeness of the community that uses it.“We try to have programming for all demographics and I think that we have a very welcoming spirit here, everybody here treats it like their home and anybody coming in is greeted,” she said, adding that it’s not unusual for residents to bring their own shovels to clear the outdoor rinks during the summer.The community centre — located in a former church that was purchased by the City in the 1980s for $1 — is named after the 38th mayor of Winnipeg. R. A. Steen has baseball, basketball, indoor and outdoor soccer, fencing and hockey teams associated with the club. Year round drop-in programming includes parent and tot programs for families; art classes, yoga and floor hockey for kids; pre-teen dances, babysitting and home alone courses for youth; and pickleball, folk music workshops, volleyball, improv classes, badminton and zumba for adults. Annual signature events include the winter carnival, fall craft sale, breakfast with Santa and the Envision Arts Festival. The Wolseley Farmers’ Market is also a regular fixture during the spring and summer. The centre brings in some revenue from facility rentals in addition to its annual operating grant, but it doesn’t host socials because there’s no liquor allowed on the premises. Even with the active Wolseley community, Roeder said attracting new volunteers for the board and events can be a struggle. “A lot of our events wouldn’t be taking place without our volunteers,” she said, explaining that the winter carnival alone requires 86 volunteers. “We have a lot of repeat volunteers and the recruiting of new volunteers is a challenge because they don’t realize that it’s just an hour.“Everybody has such busy lives now that it’s difficult for them to commit.

Wolseley’s Robert A. Steen Community Centre is a microcosm of the neighbourhood. 

Tucked away at the end of a tree-lined block, the centre at 980 Palmerston Ave. offers a wide range of activities from team sports to yoga lessons to music and art classes.

Paula Roeder has been the program co-ordinator at R. A. Steen for 12 years. Her favourite part of the centre is the closeness of the community that uses it.

Kirkfield Westwood the place for sports

Sports are a major part of the identity of Kirkfield Westwood Community Centre.This is evident in the makeup of the club’s board of directors — 13 of 19 positions are currently filled by sports convenors, managers and directors. “We have proportionally more kids registered in sports than other community centres,” KWCC president Mike Stuart said. “We have fantastic community involvement and participation and we also have the volunteers willing to step up and support that.”The club got its start in 1955 as the Kirkfield Park Community Centre at 3160 McBey Ave. and joined forces with the Westwood Community Centre when it was established in 1966 at 165 Sansome Ave. Today, Sansome, which is home to the Keith Bodley Arena, is the club’s main location and McBey is maintained as a satellite site. Kirkfield Westwood is the home of the Kodiaks and teams associated with the community centre include mini and recreational soccer, baseball, softball, floor ball, basketball, ringette and hockey. The club employs three full-time and two part-time staff members to manage the community centre and the arena. The sale of ice time is a significant source of revenue for the community centre, on top of its operating grant from the City of Winnipeg.Challenges facing KWCC include retaining qualified arena operators and navigating the constraints of the physical facility.“The facility was designed in the ’60s and perhaps the needs were a little different than today,” Stuart said, explaining that the gym isn’t regulation size and much of the club isn’t wheelchair accessible. “It’s not that we need more space per se, it’s just how it’s set up — and that’s not exclusive to us.”In addition to sports teams, KW also runs a nursery school and regular fitness classes for adults. It is a weekly meeting place for Beaver Scouts and the Karen Luba School of Dance; as well as a longstanding bridge and square dance group.Annual events include a summer carnival, hockey tournaments, Keira’s Winter Klassic ringette tournament and the Shamrocks Lacrosse Day.When asked what the community centre does for the Westwood community, Stuart said, “It just creates a common sense of pride and sense of identity.” 

Sports are a major part of the identity of Kirkfield Westwood Community Centre.

This is evident in the makeup of the club’s board of directors — 13 of 19 positions are currently filled by sports convenors, managers and directors.

 “We have proportionally more kids registered in sports than other community centres,” KWCC president Mike Stuart said. “We have fantastic community involvement and participation and we also have the volunteers willing to step up and support that.”

Volunteers give much to Heritage Victoria

Heritage Victoria Community Centre is a place for young and old to gather in St. James. The community centre has been operating at the same site at 950 Sturgeon Rd. for more than 40 years, but the current facility was built in the late 1980s to replace the original club that was showing its age.Board president Sharon Groomeridge said Heritage Victoria plays an important role in the neighbourhood.“It does allow the kids that don’t have anywhere else to be, to come and hang out in a safe place,” she said. The community centre has two outdoor rinks and offers jackrabbits and minor hockey, ringette, soccer, softball and baseball — its traditional team name is the Hawks.Popular year-round programming includes infant, pre-school and youth drop-ins, zumba, Elderobics and dog obedience training. The club runs a carnival each spring as well as a haunted house and breakfast with Santa event. With an operating grant from the City of Winnipeg that “never seems to be enough” Heritage Victoria relies on income from socials and hall rentals to support the facility. The hall can hold 340 people and, according to Groomeridge, it’s often booked solid for events.Finding and retaining volunteers is an issue at Heritage Victoria. The board of directors has eight members and is actively looking to fill several vacant positions. Groomeridge, who has been with the club for more than a decade, said it used to be easier to recruit volunteers before the days of online registration.“The advent of the internet and online registrations for sports have certainly cut down on the people we see. When people are standing in front of you and you ask them to coach, oftentimes you can cajole them into it, when you never see them it’s hard to get them to commit,” she said, adding that the club’s small catchment size also limits the volunteer pool.That said, the people that do give their time to Heritage Victoria make the community centre what it is. “The people that do volunteer give a lot of their time and their energy for the club,” Groomeridge said.

Heritage Victoria Community Centre is a place for young and old to gather in St. James. The community centre has been operating at the same site at 950 Sturgeon Rd. for more than 40 years, but the current facility was built in the late 1980s to replace the original club that was showing its age.

Board president Sharon Groomeridge said Heritage Victoria plays an important role in the neighbourhood.

“It does allow the kids that don’t have anywhere else to be, to come and hang out in a safe place,” she said. 

Deer Lodge serves an evolving community

Established in 1939, Deer Lodge Community Centre is one of the oldest clubs in St. James.According to board president Rose Foulkes, Deer Lodge serves everyone from infants to seniors at its centre 323 Bruce Ave. — but the makeup of the neighbourhood is changing.“It is an evolving community, there are a lot of elderly people that are moving on and younger families are moving into the neighbourhood, so the community is getting revitalized,” she said.The makeup of the club’s volunteer board is constantly changing, as well. Foulkes, like many board members, got involved when her son started playing soccer at Deer Lodge. She said finding and retaining volunteers can be a challenge because once kids age out of activities at the centre their parents often step away as well.“The idea of being part of the board and part of the club is to impact what our kids are part of,” she said, adding that there are currently nine members on the board and one opening.Deer Lodge employs several part-time and seasonal staff, including as many teenagers as their budget allows.“We really make a point of hiring kids to give them their first work experience because we’re a community centre and we’re all about helping community,” Foulkes said. “That tends to be the demographic of who would be willing to work for what we’re able to pay.”The club is funded by the City of Winnipeg and rents its space to make some extra money to keep up with maintenance and repairs of an aging facility. In recent years, it has received grants to re-do the skate floor in the centre and widen some doorways to make them wheelchair accessible.On a weekly basis, Deer Lodge hosts zumba, yoga and the occasional hula hoop fitness class; as well as a parent and child coalition and Girl Guides Sparks, Brownies and Pathfinder groups.They run soccer, hockey and baseball for younger ages and have started a flag rugby program to fill the gap for families who can’t keep up with the competition level or time commitment of higher-level sports.“Past eight years old, the whole game of soccer changes,” said Foulkes, whose husband is a certified rugby coach. “That’s why we started the flag rugby program, to keep them active and keep them in the community.”“It’s a fabulous game and surprisingly we have more girls registered than boys.” 

Established in 1939, Deer Lodge Community Centre is one of the oldest clubs in St. James.

According to board president Rose Foulkes, Deer Lodge serves everyone from infants to seniors at its centre 323 Bruce Ave. — but the makeup of the neighbourhood is changing.

Burton Cummings CC runs on volunteer power

Burton Cummings Community Centre is the front porch of West Alexander. Board president Harold Martinos grew up in the community and remembers when neighbours used to sit on their porches and watch local kids play in the streets. “Everybody knew everybody on the block. Now, all we do is sit in our air-conditioned houses,” he said. “The centre is a good place for people to get to know one another and get involved.”Burton Cummings is located at 960 Arlington St. and was established as the West End Memorial Community Centre in 1947. In the late 1980s, the aging centre was rebuilt and expanded and in 1991 it was officially renamed renamed after the frontman of Winnipeg rock band The Guess Who — before making it big, Cummings had played sock hops at the community centre.Aside from mini-soccer and softball funded through the City of Winnipeg’s SPIN (Sport Programs in Inner City Neighbourhoods) initiative, Martinos said the club tries to make its programming fit the needs of the community. “We do a lot of things to keep the kids coming to the centre and whatever they need most at the time is what we’ll offer,” he said. Last winter, the club ran a newcomer family skate program at its outdoor rink and it has previously hosted everything from water polo to cricket to badminton. The number of kids served by the community centre’s catchment area has also changed significantly with the expansion of the Health Sciences Centre.“Our neighbourhood has actually diminished a fair bit,” he said. “We’ve probably lost 250 homes.”The club’s weekly activity schedule includes an after-school drop-in program, adult and senior fitness classes, and pizza and movie nights. The facility and field —which has two baseball diamonds, a soccer field, tennis court, sand volleyball court and a wading pool — are also regularly used by local schools. To make its programming as inclusive as possible, there are no registration fees for sports or other activities at Burton Cummings.“We’ll offer something free before we’ll accept a paying person to rent the gym for two hours,” Martinos said. “Our programming comes first.”That philosophy requires a dedicated group of volunteers.“The biggest challenge is trying to run the operation on the funds we get. If we didn’t have the volunteers we have we’d have to close the doors,” Martinos said, adding that there are currently nine people on the board and three staff members at Burton Cummings.

Burton Cummings Community Centre is the front porch of West Alexander. 

Board president Harold Martinos grew up in the community and remembers when neighbours used to sit on their porches and watch local kids play in the streets. 

“Everybody knew everybody on the block. Now, all we do is sit in our air-conditioned houses,” he said. “The centre is a good place for people to get to know one another and get involved.”

Anything’s possible at Bourkevale

Bourkevale Community Centre runs on the philosophy of “by the neighbourhood and for the neighbourhood.”“It’s similar to what a block party would be, but all year round,” board president Dan Reles said.Bounded by the Assiniboine River, Bruce Avenue and Bruce Park, the centre has been operating at 100 Ferry Rd. since 1949 and has one of the smallest catchment areas in west Winnipeg.“As a small club, we don’t have any full-time management,” Reles said, adding that the club does, however, hire a part-time cleaner. “Everything else that’s done is done by the board and volunteers, including making and maintaining the ice.”Reles comes from a small town and joined the Bourkevale board 20 years ago to replicate the sense of community he felt growing up. While its volunteer base ebbs and flows, Reles said the centre has always had a full 14-member executive as long as he’s been involved. “When everybody’s pitching in you feel good about what you’re doing as a group and I would say that’s all of our motivations,” he said. “You may not be the most outstanding community centre in the city but we feel like we provide an excellent bang for the City’s dollar in serving our residents.”The Bourkevale Bruins field soccer and hockey teams — the latter practise on the club’s recently installed outdoor ice rinks.Week-to-week the centre has a variety of programming for young families and seniors, including children’s cooking and music classes; yoga, zumba and scrapbooking. According to Reles, Bourkevale doesn’t actively seek out new programming.“It’s entirely dependent on residents and an instructor,” he said. “If somebody comes through with a proposal we will make opportunities for them.”As an example of community-led programming, Reles points to horseback riding lessons that used to be offered in the field behind Bourkevale.“Other clubs would say, no that wouldn’t work, but our attitude is anything is possible.”St. James’ “well-organized seniors population” has also made good use of the centre, hosting weekly concert band rehearsals, pattern dancer groups and cooking classes.Bourkevale also offers a slate of special events throughout the year like small dog meet and greets, jam nights, a winter carnival, Christmas party, fall hoedown, and Halloween party. 

Bourkevale Community Centre runs on the philosophy of “by the neighbourhood and for the neighbourhood.”

“It’s similar to what a block party would be, but all year round,” board president Dan Reles said.