Volunteer Spotlight Videos

• April 14, 2023

  Posted by: Corinne Napper

  We wanted to highlight some of Manitoba's award-winning volunteers from 2022!

  The Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Community Changemakers Award

  Mardie Newton on the joys of sharing her expertise when volunteering!

  The Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Community Changemakers Award promotes group volunteer efforts across Manitoba and recognizes an outstanding community group that has dedicated their time and resources to giving back to Manitobans.

  The 2022 recipient is the Days for Girls Winnipeg Chapter and the award was accepted on their behalf by Mardie Newton!

  The Days for Girls Winnipeg Chapter is a group of volunteers who make and distribute reusable feminine hygiene kits so that girls and women can attend school and work all days of the month. When feminine hygiene products are unavailable or prohibitively expensive, a girl or woman is prevented from participating fully in daily life. To date, the Winnipeg Chapter volunteers have made and distributed 4087 kits around the world.

  During the pandemic, the volunteers pivoted and focused on meeting local needs. The group donated more than 2500 masks to organizations like 1JustCity, Mosaic Newcomer Family Resource Network, the Welcome Place and Sscope.

  The RBC Bright Future Award

  How volunteering equaled growth for Shasta Benain

  The RBC Bright Future Award, established in partnership with Volunteer Manitoba, recognizes individuals or groups who have volunteered their time to help youth overcome barriers and prepare for success in their future careers.

  The volunteer award recipient for 2022 was Shasta Benaim, who was recognized for her volunteer work with the Legal Help Centre of Winnipeg.

  The goal of the Legal Help Centre is to improve access to justice for all. It is a place where those without lawyers can get help to address their legal matters, all at no charge. The organization is able to provide these services through students who are supervised by lawyers.

  Shasta started volunteering for the Centre when she was still a law student, and after becoming a practicing lawyer, her commitment to the Centre continued and she regularly donates her time.

  The CTV Champion of Mental Health Volunteer Award

  Lisa van den Hoven on how to find the perfect volunteer role!

  The CTV Champion of Mental Health Volunteer Award was presented by CTV Winnipeg to a volunteer who represents a commitment to challenging the stigma around mental health, provide support or services to those living with mental health issues, and improve outcomes for wellbeing.

  2022's recipient is Lisa van den Hoven, was recognized for her work with Inspire Community Outreach. Lisa has donated thousands of hours serving Inspire through volunteerism, including managing online parenting groups, connecting like-minded parents to support and care from others, teaching safety and connecting parents to options to increase attachment/connection to their babies, and supporting the mental health of parents and children.

  The impact she has had on the organization, and the countless hours she has given in clinical support, as a facilitator, a researcher, and now in operations, are just a few of the reasons she is received this award.

  In each role, and throughout her life, she has been and is a leader, inviting others to see their strength.

  Spark Outstanding Pro Bono Consultant Award

  Julie Gray speaks to the rewards of volunteering!

  The Spark Outstanding Pro Bono Consultant Award was created to recognize a volunteer who has shown themselves to be a leader in the community, providing pro bono services to Winnipeg's community development and community economic development organizations through the completion of a successful match (or matches) facilitated by Spark.

  This year's recipient, Julie Gray, is being recognized for her work assisting Save Our Seine with pro bono professional human resources services to develop a respectful workplace policy.

  Julie had done several other pro bono assignments for Spark and felt that the Save our Seine assignment could truly benefit from her expertise and the outcome of the assignment would make a positive difference to this small non-profit organization.

  The Association for Manitoba Municipalities Community Leadership Award

  Brian Duncalfe on spreading the word about volunteering and getting your family and friends involved!

  Effective community leaders are dedicated to advancing and uplifting the voices of their community, and they are able to achieve unlikely things in the presence of great challenges and obstacles. The Association of Manitoba Municipalities Community Leadership Award honours individuals and groups who donate their time to advance community-driven, innovative and sustainable solutions to their municipality's most pressing challenges.

  2022's recipient is Brian Duncalfe, from The Pas. Brian volunteered for over 25 years with Meals on Wheels. Brian also volunteered on the board of The Pas Health Complex Foundation board for 13 years.

  Brian found himself the sole volunteer at Meals and he had to build the program back from the ground up. Over the years he was able to find help via local service groups who would fill in for him so he didn't have to do it all himself, but even then Brian was in the background and helping or yet still doing days when the service groups couldn't. What is remarkable are how he figures in this time he has delivered some 25,000 meals to people in our community. Often, he may be the only person to talk to that person all day, especially if that person has no home care.

  In a small town with limited resources, it is what makes what Brian does all the more important. Brian's efforts volunteering and rebuilding Meals on Wheels in The Pas, when so many small towns cannot or will not offer said services is a testament to his community spirit. The fact that so few people know that he does it, shows his humility.

  Mayor's Volunteer Service Awards

  Rob Grabowski on the satisfaction he receives because of his volunteer work.

  Rob Grabowski was looking for something to keep him busy in retirement when he stumbled upon the Winnipeg Repair Education N' Cycling Hub - better known in the community as The Wrench. He was not a bike mechanic, but he rode his bike to work, liked working with tools and lived close to the shop. Rob is a keen volunteer who loves the work and the people and he's picked up the mechanic stuff fairly quickly. Now twelve plus years later, both he and the organization are better for it.

  Want to see more? Check out the entire Awards Celebration here!

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