Pinball Clemons Inspires at Annual Hope in the City Breakfast

Winnipeg, MB – On Wednesday November 16th The Salvation Army hosted its 7th Annual Hope in the City Breakfast with special guest Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons.  Nearly 600 guests were treated not only to a great breakfast of scrambled eggs and scallions, breakfast potatoes, bacon, orange juice and various teas and coffees, but also a very energetic and inspirational talk by Pinball.  During the breakfast guests and supporters were also shown how the various programs and services of The Salvation Army are hard at work giving hope and dignity to our community.

Visuals of our work on the front lines during the recent flood season, feeding and housing those in desperate need of shelter, assisting new Canadians as they settle in, meeting the needs of our Seniors and providing a place for Spiritual growth and support at any one of our 40 ministry units in the city of Winnipeg were on display for all to see.  On location at the Winnipeg Convention Centre was one of our Community Response Vehicles.  This vehicle is operated by The Salvation Army and the Winnipeg Retired Firefighters.  Each day this vehicle is used to respond to emergencies in our city such as flooding, fires and accidents as well as functioning as a mobile canteen providing hot meals for those who require food and shelter.

This year’s breakfast was MC’ed by Kerri Salki of 102 Clear FM and Joe Aiello of 92 CITI FM.  This dynamite duo provided some great entertainment for our audience through their interactions with each other and our guest speakers.  Greetings from the Province of Manitoba were given by Premier Greg Sellinger.  The Premier also helped kick off our annual Christmas Kettle Campaign.  Nic Mundey, Chair of The Salvation Army Winnipeg Citizen’s Advisory Board, brought greetings on behalf of The Salvation Army and Jim Kurz, Manager of Scotiabank Main Branch helped launch the 2011 Toy Mountain Campaign.  This year’s Toy Mountain goal is 15,000 toys for 15,000 children.

Keynote Speaker at this year’s Hope in the City Breakfast was two time CFL All-Star and 2008 Canadian Football Hall of Famer, Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons.  Pinball thrilled the audience with his electrifying presentation as he interacted directly with many of the guests.  Through his presentation, Pinball inspired us all by illustrating what is possible and what it means to beat the odds.  He also highlighted a number of the past year’s accomplishments of The Salvation Army such as the fact that each day The Salvation Army provides on average 897 meals to those who need food and shelter.

We would like to acknowledge the support and generosity of our sponsors:

Hope Sponsors

 

Dignity Sponsors

 

Grace Sponsors

 

Kettle Sponsors

 

Photo Gallery

Pinball signing autograph for young fan.	Pinball speaking to Audience
Keynote Speaker - Michael "Pinball" Clemons	Kerri Salki of 102 Clear and Drew Kozub of Citytv
Captain Les Marshall being interviewed by CTV's Rachel Lagace	Mr. Jim Kurz of Scotiabank launching Toy Mountain Campaign
Premier Sellinger helping kick off Christmas Kettle Campaign	Mr. Nic Mundey, Chair of Winnipeg Advisory Board brings greetings
Salvation Army Brass Band	Hope in the City
Hope in the City	Michael "Pinball" Clemons