Coming together to help others

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2020 (2156 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Madison Posthumus is proud of her community for stepping up and helping individuals in need.

The 17-year-old River Park South resident recently organized a food drive in her southeast Winnipeg neighbourhood, including where she lives on Tufnell Drive, and the response was heartwarming.

Posthumus, who is in Grade 12 at Collège Jeanne-Sauvé, collected food items from 72 different households over a period of several days earlier this month, after inviting local residents to drop off donations in a collection bin at her home.

To help engage her neighbours and spread her message, the teen painted 72 rainbow pictures to accompany a note explaining about the food drive that she placed in local mailboxes — many of which subsequently appeared in the windows of her neighbours.

“I painted a ton of little rainbows on watercolour paper to put together with my notes,” Posthumus said. “The rainbow is a symbol of positivity, so I wanted to be able to spread joy, as well. Our neighbours are so nice. One man walked down the street with seven bags, and other people were donating large reusable shopping bags full of food.”

In these unprecedented times, Posthumus said it was important for her to step up and do something to help make a difference in the lives of others.

“With everything that’s in the news, I knew it was more important than ever to do something to help,” she said.

“In these situations, I know that lots of people want to help, but they don’t always know how, so I figured I would make things easy for them.”

Posthumus said she also thinks the warmer weather helped the success of the food drive, as more people are now out and about walking.

“My neighbours have been really, really awesome to do this — to give so much to people that are in need. I’m so proud of my neighbours and what they did.”

Part of Posthumus’s motivation was also connected to her longtime involvement with the Girl Guides of Canada, she said.

A member of the 382nd Winnipeg Rangers, the food drive was also the service project of her gold Trailblazer Leadership Award.