Levelling the educational playing field

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/12/2021 (1385 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A pillar of all service clubs in our community is community service. That is loosely defined as the giving of one’s energy, time and commitment to those who have less resources than us.

The literacy committee of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg-Assiniboine is striving to meet some of the needs of families and children who, after a long hiatus caused by the pandemic, are returning to study full-time in their schools. For some, the time away set them back and, for others, just getting enough material to restart school is a challenge.

In early July, Rev. Margaret Mullin of the Place of Hope Indigenous Presbyterian Church in the North End was invited to be a guest speaker at our club. Margaret and her ministry team spend endless hours visiting with families associated with the church.

Many of the children from those families were not fortunate enough to have computers at home to do school online during the pandemic, nor the privacy to study at home. Margaret said they were slowly but surely slipping behind in their schoolwork, never to regain what they lost in their educational journey.

She appealed to us for workbooks and other school-related materials that would give the children a fighting chance to maintain the skills they had and possibly develop new skills from the materials we could provide.

Since our goal as Rotarians is to promote literacy the board approved a one-time donation of over $1,500 to cover the costs of school supplies such as grade-appropriate workbooks and tablets to meet the ongoing need for literacy materials for children in grades 1 through 8.

In August, our speaker was Lin Howes Barr, CEO of the Spence Neighbourhood Association. Lin shared an overview of the many wonderful initiatives of the SNA, such as the Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre on Langside Street. Young people can drop in at any time for safety and support and to connect with a welcoming staff member who will help meet their needs for daily living. For more information, please see the website www.spenceneighbourhood.org

In response to Lin’s presentation, the literacy committee spearheaded a school supplies drive.

Notebooks, paper, pens, pencils, crayons, erasers, markers, and all kinds of other school supplies that children need to be successful at school were collected and donated to this amazing community resource centre to support the children in their pursuit of education.

As members of the Rotary Club of Winnipeg-Assiniboine, it is our good fortune to be associated with a group of dedicated individuals who realize the importance of education, while at the same time recognizing the barriers faced by some families. It is our hope that these initiatives in the name of promoting literacy will in some small way help to level the playing field both now during the pandemic and into the future.