Supporting many community projects

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/11/2020 (926 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the many honours bestowed upon a city councillor is the opportunity to support community programs and initiatives through three different grant processes.

During September and October, on behalf of the residents of Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood, we awarded several grants:

• The Charleswood United Church provides over 1,000 Christmas hampers to families in our community. The hamper program is possible because of volunteers’ and donations from community members. Our ward is providing $1,200 towards the purchase of turkeys for the 2020 hampers.

• The Tuxedo Resource Centre supports many families in our community when they need it most. This year, our ward provided $500 in funding to purchase school supplies and emergency healthy food packages for our community students.

• The pandemic has had an impact on our not-for-profit organizations. In a public effort to encourage others to donate this year, we matched Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) with a $421.95 grant to the Manitoba Marathon.

• Westwood is home to the St. James Historical Museum. We’ve all enjoyed programming offered at the museum over the years. It is an honour for me to spend time with the staff and volunteers when time and conditions permit. This year, due to pandemic restrictions, the many summer programs went virtual thanks to the museum’s creativity. We provided $762.50 to support programming.

• Bullying is a growing issue in our community and others across Canada. To help combat bullying, the Winnipeg Police Association created Cool 2Be Kind, a campaign designed to encourage children to be kind to each other. Winnipeg Police officers visit schools to talk about bullying,and the association offers grants of $500 to schools that prepare an anti-bullying program. Many of our community schools won a $500 grant from the WPA last year. We provided $500 in funding to the Cool 2Be Kind Campaign, as we have in previous years.

• Winnipeg will soon be home to Canada’s Inuit Art Centre, newly named Quamajuq, and it is sure to be an attraction for many from around the world. Former Mayor Susan Thompson has given her time to help raise funds for the cost of the museum. We, like many other councillors, provided $500.

• The Tuxedo Lawn Bowling Club has been a staple of our community for many years. Did you know the residents volunteer their time and often their money to maintain the facility? They have completed several small projects this summer and have asked for a little help for one remaining item, their flagpole. We granted the $450 for that project.

• There are several Rotary Clubs across our city that give back to our community in many ways. The Charleswood Rotary Club has been buying running shoes and food for children without attending Westgrove School. As you can imagine, this year has been more difficult for some families than others. We provided a $500 grant to Rotary specifically for that program.

If your community group has a particular project or program that could use our support, please call me directly at 204-986-5232, and we can discuss the options.