Rails to Relevance stops in Winnipeg; donates blankets and pillows
WINNIPEG, MB – Thirty-eight students from Claremont Secondary School in Victoria, British Columbia took a trip about Canadian Identity. They stepped off a train in Winnipeg with the comforts of home they had brought with them – blankets, sleeping bags, pillows – and put in a call to The Salvation Army looking for a place to donate these items to people that need them more than they now did.
These teenagers are part of a program called The Institute for Global Solutions, on this cross-country trip, the students hope to find their own answers to the questions "What does it mean to be a Canadian citizen?" and "What is Canada's responsibility to the rest of the world?" Over the length of the eleven day excursion, they will conduct interviews with Canadians they meet in order to gain insight into these questions.
Calling itself "Rails to Relevance", this trip will take the students from Vancouver Island to Winnipeg then travel on to New York, and then back to Montreal and Quebec City where they will take the train alongside their Member of Parliament Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands) to Ottawa.
The blankets and other sundries will be distributed to people in need through The Salvation Army's Street Van Ministry outreach whereby a Community Response Unit vehicle goes out into the community bringing food and hydration to people on the street. Through this ministry, the donated items will go directly to those who need them most. Each blanket may be the comfort needed on a cold fall evening to a person living on the street or on the verge of homelessness.
When asked why the group chose The Salvation Army to make the donation to, Mark Neufeld, the founding teacher of the program offered, "The Salvation Army has a very long tradition doing what they say they're going to do and a lot of times looking out for people that other people would like to forget."
Major Mervyn Halvorsen, Associate Corps Officer, The Salvation Army Weetamah Centre, and driving force behind the Street Van Ministry wanted the students to know, "Through your loving generosity of donating these items, there will be someone who will be able to stay warm tonight. Whether it is the food or hydration, or some clothes or in this circumstance, blankets and pillows, I have seen and continue to see the deep appreciation of the individual who receives the items. Words like: 'This is for me?' or 'Wow!' or 'Thank you so very much' or just speechlessness is often seen and heard. Please be reassured, you have made a difference in the life of someone today. Thank you."
From all of us here at The Salvation Army, we hope the "Rails to Relevance" trip has helped the students understand more about what it means to be a citizen of Canada, and in return, they have helped make life more comfortable for people in need.
Featured image (l-r) Lt. Mark Young, The Salvation Army; Dave Neufeld, founding teacher – IGS; Major Mervyn Halvorsen, The Salvation Army; Kyrie Tuck, Teacher – IGS