Angels of the morning collect thousands for health centre
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/12/2016 (2674 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Stepping into the dark, sloppy Winnipeg streets at 7 a.m. in December is a hellish experience. So it felt extra bizarre Friday morning when I slipped a white choir gown over my parka, strapped a pair of glittery wings over my shoulders and placed a wire halo on top of my tuque.
It’s been 21 years since the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation’s angel squad started dressing up as angels to collect donations for centre programming and renovations. Last year, the squad earned the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of angels, bringing out a total of 1,275 halo-wearing Winnipeggers.
Friday morning marked my first time on the squad: a Misericordia angel-in-training.
Truthfully, I’m not a morning person or a winter person. I fell into the driver’s seat of my car about 10 minutes later than I should have, scraped the ice from my windshield (with the wipers, naturally) and drove off.
I first saw the angels as I made the curve over the Maryland Bridge. About 15 high school-aged girls with silver hoops over their smiley heads waved at me from the sidewalk.
“Free coffee with your donation,” read their signs. I raised my hand in acknowledgement, not yet feeling nearly holy enough to join in. Other cars honked and the girls cheered.
After I arrived, I started to understand how the girls were so energetic so early in the morning. The angel squad was so kind. One volunteer rushed to help me find a gown (the preferred ones were old choir gowns, the rest were hospital bedsheets). Another helped me slide my wings over my bulky winter gear.
Outside, the sounds of cheering and the occasional honking vehicle broke up the dull sound of traffic and winter wind. Angels near the bridge directed drivers towards the health centre’s doors, where they offered coffee or hot chocolate in return for donations. People in their cars laughed and pointed.
“Is that a bedsheet?” someone yelled from their window.
It was like a charitable drive-thru. I decided to go stand with the girls on the bridge to direct traffic towards the donation station.
The girls were from St. Mary’s Academy, as it turned out, and they had come to support the foundation before class. They held signs, laughed and counted honks as cars passed over the freezing Assiniboine River.
“We’ve had over 100,” said one girl. “And if a car honks more than once, we still only count that as one.”
On Thursday morning, MHC raised around $3,000, but Friday was slower.
“I’m so impressed with the generosity today, though,” one volunteer said Friday. “One man came by and gave us a cheque for $500. He said his mother had been a patient.”
On Friday, the angels were able to make about one-third of what they made Thursday, although they stayed out for only half as long.
The longer I stood in front of the donation box, the more donors I saw who didn’t want a coffee. They didn’t want any of the cupcakes donated by Pinky’s Bakery, and they didn’t care to take a newspaper. They simply stopped by to give. Donors came through the health centre’s loop with change, cash and cheques written out for the foundation.
I accepted donations, holding the bucket out with my mittened hands. I helped the Angel Squad hand out hot coffees to grateful strangers and chatted with members of the health centre community. By the time I had to leave, I didn’t see anything hellish about the December morning — except that it was over.
rebecca.dahl@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rebeccadaahl