Uplift: Donations abound for victims of apartment fires

Two recent fires in the Maryland Avenue area in January not only displaced dozens of residents but also destroyed much of their personal property.

Thankfully, the Spence Neighbourhood Association and the John Howard Society of Manitoba were there to help.

The fires broke out in apartment buildings in the 400 and 600 blocks of Maryland Street in mid-January, forcing out more than 120 people.

Both of the local organizations put out a call for the community to donate goods and dollars to help and the community responded generously.

“We’ve got a 3,000 square foot basement and it is full,” said John Hutton, executive director of the John Hutton Society.

“We have so much you’d have problems walking around.”

But Hutton said it’s a good problem to have, especially with so many people who have lost so much.

“When you’re already making choices between soup and soap, you won’t have insurance,” he said.

“We’re looking at lots of clothing collected, also cups and dishes and cutlery. It’s non-sexy items, but people really need it.”

Ben Simcoe, housing coordinator of the Spence Neighbourhood Association, said the next step — distributing the donations — will take longer than the time it took for the generosity to came in.

“Distributing donations will take a long time… we’re allowing most people to access one (person or family) at a time, by appointment,” Simcoe said.

Hutton said it’s also because people won’t need household items until they have a place to put them.

“We’ve been waiting for the families to find a place to live,” he said.

“We’re not worried about where all the items will go. Once we’ve made sure the fire families needs are met, any items left over will go to the folks in our community who need it. With us, leftover men’s clothing could go into our closet for the men we deal with.

“I’m just so grateful to live in Winnipeg. We don’t live here because it isn’t warm in January, but because the hearts of people are warm.”

This once again just shows how generous Manitobans are. Whether it is fire, flood, or some other hardship, Manitobans are always quick to either roll up their sleeves to help or look at what they can give.

Thinking back to a past provincial motto push, the real Spirited Energy in these parts is our generous spirit.

And we’re all better for it.

– Kevin Rollason

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Shelley Cook, Columnist

If you enjoy my newsletter, please consider forwarding it to others. They can sign up for free here.

We have a more than a dozen other free newsletters, including Jill Wilson’s Applause newsletter, which comes out every Thursday, and covers Winnipeg’s local entertainment scene, as well as Jen Zoratti’s newsletter Next, a weekly look towards a post pandemic future.

You can browse all of our newsletters here.

Handsome addition to community

The Handsome Daughter hosts up to 300 events a year, says general manager Mischa Decter.

The Handsome Daughter is a bar but it has evolved into a community hub in what is becoming a trendy neighbourhood in the West Broadway area.

It offers a place to eat, a place for up and coming bands to play, and a place that offers vintage video game nights and open mike comedy nights. READ MORE

Inuit Art Centre a work of art and architecture

Michael Maltzan ArchitectureAn artist’s rendering of the Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. A three-storey pillar, which will house the vault, will be visible to visitors.

Michael Maltzan Architecture

An artist’s rendering of the Inuit Art Centre at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. A three-storey pillar, which will house the vault, will be visible to visitors.

What was once the site of a nondescript building before being demolished is now rising to be both an architectural showpiece and a place to see Inuit artwork.

The $65 million Inuit Art Centre is going up beside the Winnipeg Art Gallery and it will, for the first time, be able to display 13,000 pieces of Inuit art, representing half the gallery’s collection which is the largest public collection in the world.

The heart of it will be a seven metre high visual vault lobby which will be enclosed in glass and allow people to see the artwork – whether they are inside or outside the gallery. READ MORE

Game changing FASD court

A new court for people with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is being called a possible game changer by lawyers and judges.

Up until now, people with FASD were often set up to fail when they got to court because many of them with it not only can’t read or write, but they also couldn’t connect cause and effect.

The new court will sit one day a week and not only have judges who understand what people face with the disorder, but also have support workers there to help connect sufferers with community programs. READ MORE

Musically classy move to mix preschoolers and seniors

Freya, 4, busts a move before an appreciative audience of seniors. (Photos by Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press)

There’s now a music class which puts together preschoolers with seniors with the benefits likely to last a lifetime for the kids.

The participants are the children who go to the Prairie Children’s Centre and residents of the Pembina Place Mennonite Personal Care Home – both located at 285 Pembina Hwy.

The youngsters and seniors both sing both silly action and classic folk songs while at other times they tap sticks or bang drums. READ MORE

Two lives who helped

Dr. Ihor Mayba worked at the Misericordia Hospital, the Health Sciences Centre, Children’s Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, and the former Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children. (Supplied)

A doctor who helped people walk. A person who helped children read.

Dr. Ihor Mayba and Elaine Paul had different specialties but both had something in common — they helped people.

Mayba was an orthopedic surgeon who helped patients both here and Ukraine, while Paul first helped her daughter with her dyslexia and then assisted others, including helping to create what is now known as the Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba or LDAM.

WAYNE HEWITT PHOTO The Assiniboine Park Zoo announced the birth of a white-handed gibbon last Monday.