Steinbach Community Foundation looks to raise $30,000

The Steinbach Community Foundation is looking to raise $30,000 in this year’s Giving Challenge, which will be matched by donors in the community.

Part of the initial $10,000 will include a partnership SCF made with Clearsprings Co-op where the portion of every sale of coffee from their 12 locations in the Southeast, will go towards SCF’s general community endowment fund. The charity initiative with Co-op will run from Nov. 13 to 14.

Executive director of SCF Lynda Lambert said the percentage of sales that will come to SCF is unknown, but it is a start.

“But that’s kind of the fun part, right? Is that you want to challenge everybody to get out and buy that cup of coffee so that, you know, it adds up, adds up, and then you get to the number at the end, which is what the whole challenge is about, right?” she said.

Last year, the SCF raised $25,469.

Lambert said all the money collected for the general community endowment fund will be invested and all the interest earned will be used to fund community projects or initiatives. Some of those initiatives include an inflatable firehouse for one of the fire departments in the Southeast, funding for Ste Anne’s Villa Youville’s outdoor fireplace, programing for Safe Families Canada-Steinbach chapter, funding for automatic doors at St Malo’s seniors’ centre, and Winnipeg’s Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation. Lambert said the reason money went outside of the catchment area to the Children’s Rehabilitation Foundation is because they build adaptive tricycles for children in the region.

“If you want to grant to a charity in a minute, by gosh, we need you to do that. But if you’re feeling like you want something with legacy, something to do with your community, like longevity, into forever land, then that’s where we come into play. So each place has its purpose,” said Lambert.

To make a donation to the SCF general community fund visit endowMB.org. As the challenge is only running between Nov. 10 to 16, only donations made between those dates will be matched.

Donations to 10 Southeast fire departments

The Winnipeg Foundation raised money for the firefighting efforts of fire departments across the province during this year’s wildfire season and placed the money into the 2025 Manitoba wildfire response fund. It then distributed that money to community foundations across the province. SCF received $10,000 that it distributed to 10 fire departments in the Southeast. The money could be used for whatever the departments wanted to use it for, which could go from equipment to barbecues to a burn fund.

Ste Anne Fire Department Chief Robert Saindon said many of his crew went to fight fires in Badger, Woodridge, West Hawk Lake, Bird Lake, Leaf Rapids, and Cross Lake.

“All of these areas in Manitoba were hard hit by these wildfires. Provincial resources were stretched thinly and our members were immediately put to work in any aspect that was needed such as value protection (installing sprinklers, pulling hoses etc.) and additionally up north they were tasked to extinguish hot spots to further prevent spread of fires,” stated Saindon in an email. “(The) grant money was much appreciated for our department. We plan on purchasing additional wild land firefighting equipment such as hoses, backpacks, and personal protective equipment for our members. As climate change is real, we are preparing for more of these events in our future to occur.”

The St Pierre Fire Department didn’t believe they were actually getting a grant, they thought it was a scam.

“Fire Chief Martin Morrisette was very surprised to receive notification of this grant as no one brings in donations. They knew they had not submitted a grant application and were concerned this was a scam. We reassured him, this was not a scam and SCF was delighted to make this grant in recognition of the good work they have done for residents of Manitoba,” stated Lambert in an email.

Lambert stated Reynolds Fire Department covers the largest area of all fire departments in Southeastern Manitoba and yet has the smallest amount of residents. “Therefore, funds are very limited. They host many fundraising events throughout the year and this grant is a welcome gift to help with the purchase of more equipment,” she stated.

Southeast Whiteshell Fire Department Chief Bruce Morrison told Lambert that the town and cottagers were evacuated quickly overnight this past spring because of the wildfires. He also told her their job was “value protection of assets,” which meant installation of sprinklers, for example.

“Due to the extensive fires raging in and around West Hawk Lake area, these firefighters remained diligent to their area. They had much help step in from around Manitoba to hold the fires to the north side of the (Trans-Canada) and not spread across the highway to the south,” stated Lambert.