Cycle of giving continues

East Kildonan

Transcona

Point Douglas

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2024 (481 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jose Castro’s lifelong love of cycling started on Angus Street in Point Douglas. Now, he’s putting that love to good use.

Between July 3 and 5, Castro was among 40 cyclists who took part in Habitat For Humanity’s Spirit of Hope, a long distance, fully supported ride east from Kenora, Ont., through the picturesque landscape of the Lake of the Woods region.

“I was impressed with how much effort everybody puts into creating this ride,“ said Castro, 36. “There’s so much that goes into it. Everybody behind the scenes did such a great job. The food was great, too.”

This year’s fundraising ride, which is designed with beginner and intermediate riders in mind, has raised over $100,000 towards Habitat Manitoba’s project on Pandora Avenue West in Transcona, which will eventually be home to 55 Habitat partner families when it is completed in 2026. According to organizers, the cost to build one Habitat home at the Pandora Avenue West development is over $260,000 (excluding land).

“The whole thing was great… I’m used to cycling solo in Manitoba, (where) there are no real hills,” Castro said. “I was able to reach 66 kilometres per hour going downhill, so that was pretty fun. At the end of (each day’s) ride, we would have, like, a large dinner where we’d all sit together and go through the events of the day. I really enjoyed that aspect, all sitting down at a table. It really felt like a family.”

Castro took part as a way of giving back to Habitat, and to families who will one day call the new Habitat build on Pandora home.

Born in El Salvador, he immigrated to Winnipeg as a child with his family in 1991, and grew up in a Habitat home on Angus Street in Point Douglas. He now lives in East Kildonan with his wife, Sara, and their dog and cat.

“Habitat Manitoba has given hardworking families like mine a chance to thrive,” he said. “This is something that everyone can get behind, as it benefits the community and everyone connected to it.”

After living in Point Douglas, the Castros moved to Transcona, not far from the current Habitat build on Pandora. An electrician by trade, Castro has worked for CN for the past six years, and six years in the construction industry before that. He said he hopes the community will welcome those moving into the new Habitat homes, and that the children living there are able to get a positive experience, such as the one he enjoyed on Angus Street.

“I really hope they get the same sense of being accepted, their kids especially, feeling welcome in their neighbourhood and playing with the other kids,” he said. “Feeling safe, everything that I felt. Point Douglas isn’t the safest place, but I never felt unsafe as a kid. I hope, mainly, they can grow up with other kids and feel safe.”

Castro added that he remains close with many of the friends he made as a kid on Angus Street.

“I remember lots of laughs, lots of good times,” he said.

“Everybody everyday would come outside and do some sort activity, whether that was basketball, hockey, skateboarding, rollerblading. Growing up with a lot of kids my age, some of them are still my best friends, two were in my wedding party — one was my groomsman, the other my best man — so I still talk to them, and remember everybody’s name. You could point to any of those houses and I could tell you who lived there still.”

It’s no small wonder, then, that he gives back to the organization he feels gave him and his family so much back when they were new to Winnipeg.

“I thought if I can give back, because I have such a specific experience with Habitat and I know what that meant to me, to me it was such an important kind of connection that I could make, to really feel I could make a change for a kid like myself,” he said.

“I love cycling. My first bike I had (on Angus Street) was donated. I’m trying to give back where I can.”