MP Glover connects with neighbourhood roots
WINNIPEG , MB – “Chemistry” is the theme of the summer. Staff frocked in lab coats
explain the day’s experiment to their willing pupils – nearly 20 elementary
school-aged children. They make up half of the day’s attendees at The Salvation
Army Barbara Mitchell Family Resource Centre’s Summer Kids Club. Today, basic
principles of molecular science are being explained with ping pong balls.
Showing particular interest in the proceedings is a bespectacled woman, smartly
dressed in business attire. After the experiment comes to an end, she is
introduced to the children as Shelly Glover, Minister of Canadian Heritage and
Official Languages, and Member of Parliament for Saint Boniface.
Heritage Minister Glover has been a vocal supporter of the Barbara Mitchell Family
Resource Centre and has been instrumental in partnering the Centre’s social
programs with the Government of Canada. Benefiting from this partnership are
programs such as LEEP (Life Employability Enhancement Program), STARS (Seniors
Tuesday AM Recreation Spot) and the various Kids Clubs such as this one.
As the Minister takes her turn at the plate in a game of soccer-baseball with
the children, she looks at home in this place. She should – as a 19 year old
single mother, she lived in an apartment building across the street from the
Barbara Mitchell Centre and made use of some of the programs that it provides.
With her help, the scope of those programs has grown.
While the theme of this Summer Kids Club may be “Chemistry,” the word also
describes the relationship between Mrs. Glover, The Barbara Mitchell Family
Resource Centre, and the community they both serve.
To pledge your own support to help programs such as these, please visit
www.salvationarmy.ca/donate-now or call (204) 975-1033.