Anola teen has a heart for the homeless

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This article was published 07/03/2021 (1537 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At nine-years-old, Lexi Taylor had already put her stamp on helping the homeless in Winnipeg. At 14, the Anola teen is the youngest to be recognized with an Honour 150 award.

It’s an award that stunned the volunteer, who didn’t realize her mother Rhonda had nominated her in the first place. At home with her father while her mother was on a trip for work, she got the call that she had indeed won the award.

“She called me from her hotel room and I was completely speechless,” she said. “I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t know how to react, I was so happy and shocked.”

Taylor said to know she was one of 150 Manitobans honoured in such a way is “amazing”.

“I really appreciate it,” she said. “I almost can’t put it into words.”

Taylor began volunteering by creating the “A Little Bit of Warm Initiative” when she was nine-years-old. That initiative saw her collect toques and mitts which were given to homeless people in Winnipeg.

She said the idea came after her class talked about cold winters. That coupled with a trip to Winnipeg with her parents became the catalyst for her giving.

“I had seen all of these people and they were outside,” she said. “It made me feel really, really sad knowing there’s people out there who didn’t have the resources and the necessities that they needed to stay warm during such cold winters.”

Her first plan was to collect and distribute coats or jackets.

“Jackets were hard to come by and super expensive, so when I talked to my mom about the idea, she had suggested toques and mitts,” she said.

The initiative was born with her own money, $100 taken from her birthday stash. She found a soup kitchen to volunteer at and brought those toques and mitts with her.

From 2016 to 2018 she partnered with Got Bannock?, an organization that worked to address food insecurity and homelessness. After that organization closed she passed out her bags between six different organizations.

Taylor took the time to ensure the bags not only contained the necessary mitts and toques but also extras such as hot chocolate powder and candy canes.

Taylor said she could see the difference that small contribution made.

“It was incredible,” she said. “The smiles, they were all so thankful and so grateful to have a little something around Christmas time.”

She said seeing one mother taking packages for her children and commenting that they would make Christmas better, made an impression.

“It was heartwarming to see how people reacted so positively to what I was doing,” she said.

Despite COVID, Taylor was still able to make a difference in 2020, thanks to a donation from her school and support from friends and family.

That allowed her to give an estimated 200 gift bags away, adding to a lifetime total of an estimated 1,100.

Helping the homeless is important to Taylor who said she realizes how fortunate she is.

“I know that there are people who are less fortunate and who don’t have the resources that they need or they don’t have the income that they need, and just knowing that I can make their day a little bit better around Christmas time, just makes me feel so amazing,” she said. “To see the way it helps people and impacts people it’s just really heartwarming to see.”